MAM
Stellantis bolsters leadership team with key appointments in India
Mumbai: Automotive company Stellantis on Tuesday announced a slew of appointments to bolster its leadership team in India. All appointees will report to Stellantis India, CEO & managing director Roland Bouchara, the statement said.
The latest development follows the recent remodeling of the brands’ leadership in India with Saurabh Vatsa and Nipun J Mahajan taking over as brand heads for Citroen and Jeep, respectively.
“The Stellantis India organisation is firmly in place with a rock-solid leadership,” Bouchara said. “The appointed senior executives, with their extensive experience, will support me in integrating our operations, strengthening our processes, and driving Stellantis India’s operations to the next level.”
According to the automaker’s recent announcement, Joel Verany will be responsible for sales & marketing (S&M) efficiency for Stellantis in India. Joel, an automobile engineer by qualification, has worked with PSA, including Citroen India, for 20 years. Based in India since 2017, Joel previously was PCA India’s VP sales and network, Citroën.
“Going forward, Joel will support both Jeep and Citroën brands in India to achieve volumes, maintain quality and profitability. Besides providing processes and tools for the entire ecosystem of sales & marketing, he will drive synergies for the overall scope of this function and deploy best practices for both brands,” the company said.
Ashish Sahni will be at the helm of the customer journey & digital transformation for Stellantis in India, and also for digital transformation and performance marketing for the India & Asia Pacific (IAP) region. “Ashish has a strong track record and reputation as a digital strategist, marketing maven and business builder over 20 years, across industries such as automobiles, travel & tourism, insurance, and media. Under his leadership, Citroën India shaped its digital customer journey, which offers Indian customers a rather unique and seamless online experience and retail journey. His previous job was PCA India director of digital marketing,” the company said.
Hitesh Jain, is appointed as general counsel, India within Stellantis IAP region and is responsible for legal functions for all Stellantis entities in India. Hitesh, a science and law graduate has two decades of work experience in a variety of legal and corporate secretarial roles across diverse organisations. He is also a member of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India. Previously, Hitesh was responsible for legal and company secretary functions at the erstwhile FCA India.
Puneet Sabharwal is responsible for finance at Stellantis India, and also assumes responsibility as the sales & marketing controller for Jeep as well as Citroën brands. He will be responsible for accounting, reporting, and taxation for India operations. Puneet is a member of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and has diverse work experience spanning 25 years in the automotive industry. Previously, Puneet was responsible for the finance function at PCA India.
Samuel Jacob will be the head of human resources for the Stellantis IAP region as well as the India market. Samuel has 26 years of overall work experience, in India and overseas, across diverse industries such as hospitality, manufacturing, and aviation.
Sreeji Kumar is responsible for information technology and digital transformation at Stellantis India. His role encompasses IT and technology solutions across sales and marketing, after-sales, manufacturing, import & export, connectivity, and R&D. A digital technology expert with over 21 years of work experience, Sreeji has worked with a variety of MNCs and industries. He joined the erstwhile PCA India as chief information officer, in 2020 and is credited to spearheading end-to-end IT solution deployment and activation of Citroën India manufacturing operations, including the C5 Aircross SUV launch in the market.
M Raj Kalyanarajan, is responsible for vehicle manufacturing for the Citroën brand. His experience of 27 years spans automotive and earthmoving industries in India and in the US. Raj has been instrumental in reviving the brownfield car manufacturing facility at Thiruvallur from its idle state to its current operations, for manufacturing of the C5 Aircross SUV and future products.
Xavier de Gaudemaris takes charge of supply chain operations at Stellantis India. Xavier has worked in the supply chain industry for over 20 years and his new role includes production planning, vehicle domestic, and export logistics.
Moreover, Jerome Dubrac will oversee manufacturing finance in India and Vincent Baron for Hosur plant operations.
Goëry Weymuller is responsible for customer experience in India within Stellantis India & Asia Pacific (IAP) region. He has spent 42 years working in PSA in R&D and quality positions in Europe, Latin America, and China before beginning his automotive customer and product stint in India four years ago. ” Goëry will be responsible for Citroën customer satisfaction including setting quality targets for new products till the final approbation of the vehicles after the completion of the manufacturing of the vehicle and before delivery to customers,” the company added.
Brands
Big Bowl appoints Lyxel & Flamingo as social and media partner
QSR brand eyes next growth phase after crossing Rs 100 crore ARR milestone
MUMBAI: Big Bowl, one of India’s largest bowl-format quick service restaurant brands from Lenexis Foodworks, has appointed Lyxel & Flamingo (L&F) as its social and media partner as it prepares for its next phase of growth.
The partnership comes after the brand crossed the Rs 100 crore annual recurring revenue milestone in 2025 and aims to help accelerate its journey towards Rs 150 crore ARR in its fifth year since launch.
Big Bowl currently operates more than 250 kitchens across 50 cities and has emerged as a major player in India’s organised bowl-format food segment. Built around hearty portions and delivery-first convenience, the brand offers a wide mix of Indian, Chinese and fusion bowls designed for quick, affordable and portable consumption.
As urban consumers increasingly gravitate towards easy-to-carry and value-driven meal formats, the company sees the bowl category as a scalable format aligned with modern eating habits.
With the appointment of Lyxel & Flamingo, Big Bowl plans to consolidate its social media and digital media operations under a single partner. The move is intended to sharpen its digital reach, strengthen youth-focused storytelling and improve performance marketing outcomes.
Lyxel & Flamingo, one of India’s largest independent digital-first agencies, manages more than 350 brands and oversees advertising spends exceeding $100 million across its network.
Under the mandate, the agency will handle Big Bowl’s social media strategy, content development, digital performance marketing, media planning and buying, as well as campaign amplification across platforms.
Commenting on the partnership, Lenexis Foodworks founder and director Aayush Madhusudan Agrawal said, “Big Bowl has scaled rapidly to cross Rs 100 crore ARR and established itself as one of the largest bowl-format brands in the country. As a delivery-first, digitally native brand, our next phase of growth will be driven by sharper performance systems and stronger brand storytelling. Consolidating social and media with Lyxel & Flamingo allows us to integrate data, creativity and media precision as we scale towards our next revenue milestone.”
Lenexis Foodworks marketing head Vikas Iyer, added that the delivery-led category requires content, media and performance marketing to work closely together.
“With Lyxel & Flamingo, we aim to build a sharper social voice, stronger acquisition systems and measurable impact, ensuring the brand scales not just in presence but also in precision,” he said.
Lyxel & Flamingo chief executive officer Dev Batra, said the agency will combine data-driven marketing with creative storytelling to support Big Bowl’s growth. “Big Bowl brings the flavour, and L&F brings the fire. Our strategy combines data-led performance with engaging storytelling to help build a strong digital brand presence while delivering measurable business results,” he said.
With this partnership, Big Bowl is looking to strengthen its position as a digitally driven QSR brand, blending brand-building with performance marketing as it scales within India’s rapidly growing organised food delivery market.
