MAM
Lodestar UM CEO Nandini Dias moves on after 27 years
Mumbai: Lodestar UM CEO Nandini Dias has decided to move on from the agency, after being its CEO for close to a decade. She joined the group 27 years ago as a young media person and has since gone on to acquire the top positions.
“I leave Lodestar UM in the hands of a strong, capable, and empowered team that has stayed vested and bonded with me for a long time,” Dias said. “In fact, almost all of the top 30 have been with me throughout my tenure as CEO – something that I am particularly proud of. So it was with a heavy heart that I had to break the news to them about my decision to move on. It is rare that one gets the opportunity to hand over the reins after an organisation’s best years, but this year was one of Lodestar UM’s finest.”
“Over a dozen new businesses, over 20 international awards, Campaign’s Agency Of The Year – Silver, RECMA recognised it as the agency with highest Vitality and personally, my being recognised as the Media Agency CEO Leader Of The Year by the International Advertising Association (IAA) and feted by the Governor of Maharashtra. I couldn’t choose a greater milestone year in which to hand over the baton and go out on a high,” she further said.
Over the years, Dias has been recognised with numerous honours by several bodies – starting with being the Media Planner of the Year in 1998 to going on to be the Media CEO of the Year on various platforms in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2021. She’s also been recognised by platforms like The World Leadership Congress and made it to The Times of India’s coveted list of Times Power Women, among others. She has also been on the Economic Times Most Influential list for several years now, one of the first woman leaders to make it there.
While not having taken a decision on the future yet, Dias said, “I started out with a fledgling agency and am handing over the Media Agency of the Year as I move on. So I am looking forward to taking a well-earned break for the first time in my life and am excited to see how things will unfurl.”
In 2018, Dias piloted a pan-industry citizens’ initiative – WorkToLiveToWork – that pushed a radical solution to save commuter lives on their way to work, for which she was awarded the prestigious ‘Gamechanger Of The Year’ award. She’s won over 100 awards at Asia-Pacific Spikes, Festival Of Media Global and APAC, Creative Media Award, several Cannes Lions and many, many local awards. It is widely believed that her focus on innovative solutions transformed the culture of Lodestar UM into an award-winning one which led to the company being one of the most respected media groups in the industry today.
“Nandini has been my partner ally, and friend for 27 years,” Mediabrands CEO India Shashi Sinha said. “She has led from the front to build Lodestar UM ground up to make it what it is today. A dynamic, vibrant top three agency in the country. Passion is what defines Nandini, whether it is creating business solutions, building strong media properties for her clients or making a difference to our society and communities or just bringing her teams together to celebrate a festival or a win, Nandini did it all with remarkable fervour. At a personal level, I will miss her terribly. But I have always believed that a good leader is defined not by what has been built but by what is left behind. Nandini leaves her indelible mark on Lodestar UM in the solid and hugely capable leadership team that she has nurtured and I can say with all confidence that they will only continue to build on her legacy.”
Digital
Content India 2026 opens with a copro pitch, a spice evangelist and a £10,000 prize for Indian storytelling
Dish TV and C21Media’s three-day summit puts seven ambitious projects before an international jury, and two walk away with serious development money
MUMBAI: India’s content industry gathered in Mumbai this March for Content India 2026, a three-day summit organised by Dish TV in partnership with C21Media, and it wasted no time making a statement. The event opened with a Copro Pitch that put seven scripted and unscripted television concepts before an international panel of judges, and by the end of it, two projects had walked away with £10,000 each in marketing prize money from C21Media to support development and international promotion.
The jury, comprising Frank Spotnitz, Fiona Campbell, Rashmi Bajpai, Bal Samra and Rachel Glaister, evaluated a shortlist that ranged from a dark Mumbai comedy-drama about mental health (Dirty Minds, created by Sundar Aaron) to a Delhi coming-of-age mystery (Djinn Patrol, by Neha Sharma and Kilian Irwin), a techno-thriller about a teenage gaming prodigy (Kanpur X Satori, by Suchita Bhatia), an investigative crime drama blending mythology and modern thriller (The Age of Kali, by Shivani Bhatija), a documentary on India’s spice heritage (The Masala Quest, hosted by Sarina Kamini), a documentary on competitive gaming (Respawn: India’s Esports Revolution, by George Mangala Thomas and Sangram Mawari), and a reality-horror competition merging gaming and immersive fear (Scary Goose, by Samar Iqbal).
The session was hosted by Mayank Shekhar.
The two winners were Djinn Patrol, backed by Miura Kite, formerly of Participant Media and known for Chinatown and Keep Sweet: Pray & Obey, with Jaya Entertainment, producers of Real Kashmir Football Club, also attached; and The Masala Quest, created and hosted by Sarina Kamini, an Indian-Australian cook, author and self-described “spice evangelist.”
The summit also unveiled the Content India Trends Report, whose findings made for bracing reading. Daoud Jackson, senior analyst at OMDIA, set the tone: “By 2030, online video in India will nearly double the revenue of traditional TV, becoming the main driver of growth.” He noted that in 2025, India produced a quarter of all YouTube videos globally, overtaking the United States, while Indians collectively spend 117 years daily on YouTube and 72 years on Instagram. Traditional subscription TV is declining as free TV and connected TV gain ground, forcing broadcasters to innovate. “AI-generated content is just 2 per cent of engagement,” Jackson added, “highlighting the dominance of high-quality human content. The key for Indian media companies is scaling while monetising effectively from day one.”
Hannah Walsh, principal analyst at Ampere Analysis, added hard numbers to the picture. India produced over 24,000 titles in January 2026 alone, with 19,000 available internationally. The country now accounts for 12 per cent of Asia-Pacific content spend, up from 8 per cent in 2021, outpacing both Japan and China. Key exporters include JioStar, Zee Entertainment, Sony India, Amazon and Netflix, delivering over 7,500 Indian-produced titles abroad each year. The top importing markets are Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, the United States and the Philippines. Scripted content dominates globally at 88 per cent, with crime dramas and children’s and family titles performing particularly strongly.
Manoj Dobhal, chief executive and executive director of Dish TV India, framed the summit’s ambition squarely. “Stories don’t need translation. They need a platform, discovery, and reach, local or global,” he said. “India produces more movies than any country, our streaming platforms compete globally, and our tech and creators win international awards. Yet fragmentation slows growth. Producers, platforms, and tech move in different lanes. We need shared spaces, collaboration, and an ecosystem where ideas, technology, and people meet. That is why we built Content India.”
The data, the pitches and the prize money all pointed to the same conclusion: India is not waiting for the world to discover its stories. It is building the infrastructure to sell them.
