iWorld
boAt announces leadership expansion; onboards P Narayan, C Awasthi as business and HR heads
Mumbai: Imagine Marketing, which owns the market-leading wireless hearables and wearables brand boAt has announced several new appointments to the leadership team, affirming its focus to building a top-notch team to unleash the next phase of growth. The company has increased its workforce by over 110 employees and is now over 300 boAtheads strong.
Key additions include:
Prejith Narayan, the chief business officer, brings over 12 years of experience after serving industry juggernauts like Amazon, Aditya Birla Group and IBM. During his stint at Amazon, Prejith led multiple key categories like wireless audio, wearables, PCA and beauty.
Charmie Awasthi, recently appointed as chief human resource officer brings with her a rich professional experience of over 17 years with media conglomerates like Viacom18 and Zee Entertainment. During her professional career, she has partnered with & consulted business leaders on people strategy and practices to enable organisational growth and development. She specialises in organisation design, leadership development, change management, coaching & mentoring and performance management.
Shyam Vedantam, who has joined the deck as a chief product delivery officer, comes with over two decades of rich experience as a tech business leader and an entrepreneur. From building products to scaling businesses, he has previously served large enterprises including Harman and GE along with start-ups across US, India, and the Asia Pacific.
Rakshit Gupta will be responsible for spearheading the CX initiatives as the head of customer experience at boAt. His diverse experience in areas like strategy, product, and operations across Swiggy, The Boston Consulting Group, and Flipkart, is certain to add a tremendous value to all the new customer delight initiatives that the company is set to usher in.
Vibhor Jain, recently appointed as the head of e-commerce, brings to the table a span of experiences across e-commerce, electronics, and FMCG sector with industry giants like Tata Cliq, Appario Retail, Patanjali, and TCS where he worked in roles across corporate strategy, business development and category management.
Essaying roles in brand strategy, market research, innovation, P&L management and new product development; Aman Brara has recently joined as the head of wearables. Known for scaling up business and brands, he has worked with Reckitt and Godrej Consumer Products in the past and is truly passionate about taking the category to new heights.
Imagine Marketing CEO Vivek Gambhir said, “Over the years, under the inspiring leadership of Aman and Sameer, our co-founders, the company has been successful in rapidly scaling up the business and delivering profitable growth. For our next phase of growth, we are elated to expand our team and welcome dynamic and talented leaders who will help us chart the way and take Imagine Marketing to the next level. As we grow, we will continue to scout for great talent to add across multiple functions.”
eNews
Piyush Thakur steps down as Inshorts’ chief revenue officer
Former vice president and cro says exit marks a new chapter after close to a decade of building revenue and partnerships at Inshorts Group.
NOIDA: Piyush Thakur has stepped away from Inshorts Group after nearly 10 years with the company, marking the end of a long tenure that culminated in his role as chief revenue officer.
In a farewell note, Thakur said he was “turning a new page” after almost a decade at Inshorts, calling it one of the hardest professional decisions he has made. He added that his exit was not driven by uncertainty about the future, but by reflection on a long association with the company.
Thakur joined Inshorts in October 2016 as vice president and spent around seven years in the role before being elevated to chief revenue officer in April 2024, a position he held until April 2026.
He said his tenure was defined by “thousands of mornings, late nights, product debates and breakthrough moments”, as the company evolved into a large-scale digital news platform used by millions.
In his note, Thakur emphasised that Inshorts’ growth was a collective effort across teams, adding that engineers, designers, sales teams and customer support staff all contributed to building the platform. He said the company’s success was not the result of individuals but of “everyone who stayed, passed through, and left their mark”.
Before Inshorts, Thakur worked across several digital media and business development roles. At ESPN, he served as senior regional manager from October 2015 to October 2016, focusing on growth initiatives, strategic opportunities and video distribution.
At Times Internet, he worked for nearly three years, including as head of business development from April 2015 to September 2015 and chief manager from January 2013 to March 2015. His responsibilities included monetisation of mobile platforms, managing media and developer partnerships, and driving revenue across digital properties such as The Times of India and The Economic Times.
Earlier, he worked at Brandmovers as head of business development from June 2012 to June 2013, handling digital, mobile and social media marketing solutions, client development and strategic consulting. During this period, he also worked on advertising revenue, brand strategy and CRM-based solutions.
At Inshorts, Thakur’s role focused on revenue strategy, mobile and media partnerships, and growth initiatives across platforms. His profile highlights experience in mobile product management, digital business models, partner ecosystems and revenue expansion in high-growth environments.
