MAM
Clensta appoints Ankit Gaur as the new CGO & Strategy Officer
Mumbai: Home and personal care startup Clensta on Tuesday announced the appointment of Ankit Gaur as their chief growth and strategy officer.
As Clensta gears up to expand its portfolio and offerings, Gaur will be spearheading brand and performance marketing, communication, sales & growth functions for the brand.
With deep expertise in spearheading disruptive innovation, Gaur brings to the table an innate knack for understanding consumer behaviour. In his role, Ankit will be expected to deliver transformational growth in establishing Clensta as the undisputed market leader in home and personal care segment.
An alumnus of the prestigious SP Jain School of Global Management, Gaur comes with an extensive experience of 13 years in the industry, and has worked across different industries and verticals throughout his career. Prior to joining Clensta, Gaur was at the helm of the direct-to-consumer (D2C) business at Livpure. He has also held various senior leadership positions with organisations such as CuroCarte, Ashok Leyland, Wal-Mart India, Big Bazaar India and Wonderchef.
In his previous stint as an entrepreneur, Ankit piloted the launch of his startup, EthnicRoom, an omnichannel ethnic fashion startup, and successfully raised series-A funding for the brand. His expertise as an entrepreneur will be instrumental in strengthening Clensta’s brand positioning across the country.
“We are delighted to have Ankit on board as our chief growth and strategy officer and would like to welcome him to the Clensta family,” said Clensta founder and CEO Puneet Gupta. “Clensta was incorporated in 2016 with a vision to provide affordable and effective cleaning solutions to the world while also ensuring our planet’s commitment by contributing towards reducing pollution and waste. As we complete six years in business and progress towards the next leg of our journey, we are aiming to expand our presence across markets and enhance our product portfolio to include a more comprehensive set of offerings. Ankit, with his extensive experience across different sectors and industry, is a welcome addition to the team and would play a significant role in catapulting the company to newer heights.”
“I am honoured to have been appointed as the chief growth and strategy officer at Clensta,” said Ankit Gaur. “I have been closely following the developments at Clensta and am impressed with what the brand has achieved in such a short span of time. The ecosystem of sustainable consumption and production that Clensta is trying to build is truly commendable and closely mirrors my personal ethos. I am excited about the new role and look forward to establishing Clensta as one of the most sought-after brands in the D2C space.”
Brands
Abhinav Rastogi named global marketing director for YouTube Shopping
Google veteran to scale creator commerce and expand shopping across global markets
SINGAPORE: Abhinav Rastogi has stepped into a new role as global marketing director for YouTube Shopping, marking the latest chapter in a more than decade-long career at Google.
Rastogi, who took on the position in February and is based in Singapore, will lead global marketing for YouTube Shopping, a platform designed to connect creators, viewers and merchants in a single ecosystem. His remit includes expanding the service into new markets and strengthening its positioning as a growth channel for both creators and brands.
In a reflective note on the transition, Rastogi pointed to a simple but powerful idea driving the role. For years, creators have quietly built trust with audiences through consistent and authentic content, and that trust often shapes purchasing decisions. What is changing now, he said, is the infrastructure around that behaviour. YouTube Shopping aims to make it easier for viewers to discover and buy products recommended by creators they already follow.
The scale is already significant. More than half a million creators have joined the programme, with recent expansion into Japan through a partnership with Rakuten signalling further global ambitions.
Rastogi believes the future of shopping on YouTube will be driven by a blend of creators, content and communities. In his view, it is the human voice behind the screen, not just the product, that ultimately builds trust and drives discovery.
Prior to this role, he served as director of marketing, YouTube Asia Pacific, where he led regional marketing across creator engagement, brand building and reputation. During that time, he played a key role in launching and scaling YouTube Shopping across eight markets in the region.
Earlier stints at Google include group product marketing manager, consumer apps, overseeing growth for products such as Search, Maps and Assistant across India and Southeast Asia, and product marketing manager roles spanning consumer apps and YouTube, where he contributed to launches including YouTube Music, YouTube Originals and YouTube Shorts.
Rastogi began his career in consulting with Boston Consulting Group and A.T. Kearney, before moving into the technology sector. He is an alumnus of Indian Institute of Management Calcutta and Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur.
Alongside his corporate role, he is also an active angel investor, backing early-stage startups in consumer technology and electric mobility across India and Southeast Asia.
As he settles into the new role, Rastogi is betting on a future where every video can double up as a storefront, and where commerce feels less like a transaction and more like a recommendation from a trusted voice.
