iWorld
Weekend Unwind with Dr Aparna Santhanam
Mumbai: With another weekend upon us, it’s the perfect time to relax with Indiantelevision.com’s latest edition of Weekend Unwind—a fun and informal Q&A series that takes a deep dive into the minds of industry leaders. Through this weekend feature, we get a closer look at the people behind the titles, discovering their personal stories, passions, and unique perspectives.
In this week’s session, we have Dr Aparna Santhanam (MD, DNB), a renowned dermatologist, cosmetologist, and wellness expert with over two decades of experience in the beauty, health, and wellness industry. As the current medical head of Kaya Skin Clinics, she played a pivotal role in establishing the brand as India’s largest chain of cosmetic dermatology clinics. Dr. Santhanam has consulted for major cosmetic and pharmaceutical brands, including ITC, Unilever, Marico, and Cipla, and has authored three bestselling books, ‘Skin Deep,’ ‘Let’s Talk Hair,’ and ‘Jelly Belly’. Her expertise spans private practice, strategic consulting, and consumer insights in skin and hair care across India, the Middle East, and China. She is also a certified transformational coach and a fellow of the Harvard Business School Dasra Social Leadership program.
In addition to her medical career, Dr. Santhanam is an active writer, speaker, and advocate for women’s health and wellness. She has worked with NGOs like the Bombay Leprosy Project and Apnalaya India, focusing on women’s empowerment and community development in Mumbai’s poorest slums. Her patient-centric approach emphasizes education and awareness, using simple tools and digital media to empower individuals to better understand their skin, hair, and overall health.
Without further ado, here it goes…
Your mantra for life
Love drives everything and life is beautiful!
A book you are currently reading or plan to read
I’m always reading and usually two books at any time.
Fiction: Butter, a brilliant Japanese book
Non-fiction: Unfiltered: The CEO & The Coach
Your fitness mantra
Movement is Medicine… Just keep moving!
Your comfort food
Rasam Rice & Potato roast South Indian style.
A quote or philosophy that keeps you going when the chips are down
“This too shall pass”.
Your guilty pleasure
Pani puri & murder books, movies & TV shows.
The last time you tried something new
I’m very experimentative with all experiences… so reformer Pilates last month, Modern fusion twist in South Indian cuisine last week, learning to write haikus.
A life lesson you learned the hard way
There are no shortcuts to anything worthwhile… it’s a stairway to heaven but a highway to hell 🙂
What gets you excited about life?
New experiences… unexpected learning’s….undiscovered possibilities…..constant healing of self and the world ….life is never predictable and always exciting.
What’s on top of your bucket list?
Travel to Ireland…. Some of my favorite authors are from there… I feel a close kinship and a pull to go there.
If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self, what would it be?
Slow down… savour life…. Everything comes to you when it is supposed to….enjoy every moment of the journey.. slow down.
One thing you would most like to change about the world
To have each one of us truly believe that each and every one of us is equal and an inclusive world is the most beautiful world.
An activity that keeps you motivated and charged during tough times
Picking up a new skill and writing poetry. Gets me unstuck and motivated.
What lifts your spirits when life gets you down?
Drinking a cup of chai with my best friend and laughing at nothing at all is the best therapy and spirit lifter!
Your go-to stress buster
Watching shows/movies with my husband & daughter. Changes my mood instantly.
e-commerce
ONDC names Vibhor Jain MD and CEO; Rohit Lohia joins as CBO, Manoj Thakur as CTO
Leadership formalised as open commerce network sharpens focus on scale and user value
The Open Network for Digital Commerce has formalised Vibhor Jain as managing director and chief executive officer, cementing a leadership transition at India’s ambitious open commerce platform as it pushes for scale and relevance.
Jain, who had been serving as acting chief executive officer since April last year following the exit of Thampy Koshy, steps into the role with effect from 7th April , according to a report by The Economic Times. He previously served as chief operating officer at the government-backed network, which enables buyers and sellers to transact across applications through an open, interoperable system.
Setting out his strategy, Jain underscored the network’s differentiated architecture. “Going forward, we are concentrating on what open, interoperable infrastructure can uniquely enable, things that no single platform has the incentive or the architecture to do,” he said.
He added that the immediate priority is to widen ONDC’s impact across user cohorts often underserved by platform-led commerce. “My priority is to deepen the value ONDC creates for the people it exists to serve: kisaans, karigars, kiranas, gig workers, first-time investors, and daily commuters across India,” he said.
Jain also flagged leadership reinforcement within the organisation, noting that ONDC has “a strong and exciting leadership team in place”, with Rohit Lohia joining as chief business officer and Manoj Thakur as chief technology officer.
With over 18 years of experience spanning entrepreneurship and consulting, Jain brings a track record in technology-led, large-scale transformation programmes and internet businesses. At ONDC, he has been closely involved in shaping strategy and operations as the network seeks to move digital commerce away from platform-centric models towards an open network approach.
Before ONDC, Jain worked with JUMO, where he helped set up the fintech firm’s India operations, and led the India launch of Mobike, handling regulatory, policy and operational aspects of its market entry. Earlier, he co-founded Atlanta Healthcare, an air quality management company, and spent more than a decade in consulting roles at Andersen and EY, advising governments on public policy and technology-driven reforms, including work on the Aadhaar programme and tax systems.
The mandate is clear but the path is complex. As ONDC attempts to rewrite the rules of digital commerce, Jain now carries the burden of turning open architecture into mass adoption, in a market still dominated by platform power.
