MAM
Prashant Tekwani appointed Havas CX India EVP, business head
NEW DELHI – Havas Group India has announced the appointment of Prashant Tekwani as EVP & and business head of Havas CX India, the newly formed customer experience network, with immediate effect. He will be based out of Mumbai which is one of the key cities across the globe for the network’s growth.
Havas Creative recently launched Havas CX – a new, international network dedicated to delivering meaningful brand experiences across the entire customer journey. It brings together more than 1,500 people from 20 of Havas Creative’s global agency groups and local agencies, plus additional CX specialists from across the Havas network, under a common structure, governance, methodology and mission.
In his new role, Tekwani will work towards accelerating Havas CX journey of transformation in India along with the core leadership team in the group. He will be working with Ekino, Think Design and Langoor Havas teams to leverage both Indian and global opportunities. Prashant will report into Rana Barua, CEO, Havas Group India, and work closely with Yann Doussot, Global COO, Havas CX Network, to help build and integrate the entire offering.
His decade-long experience not just straddles advertising, but also saw him in entrepreneurship and marketing roles in the past. Prior to this, he was senior vice president – north & east for Indigo Consulting, a Publicis Groupe company, where he was mandated to drive growth and integrated solutions for the brands.
His other stints include the time he spent as SVP at Monk Media Network and at iContract as AVP among others. In his career, Tekwani has worked on a multitude of leading brands such as Google, YouTube, HSBC, Citibank, Shopper Stop, UTI Mutual Funds, HotStar, Carrier, Bharti Axa, McDonalds, Asian Paints, Star Sports among others.
Havas CX Network global COO Yann Doussot said “Havas CX spans 18 major Havas Villages around the world, with key hubs in London, Paris, New York and Mumbai. It brings together global agency groups including Ekino (digital transformation), BETC FullSix (customer experience), Havas helia (customer engagement) and award-winning leaders in their markets including Plastic Havas, Langoor, Boondoggle, Gate One, Think Design, Project House and Intellignos. Prashant’s appointment is a key milestone for the group’s ongoing effort to deliver meaningful brand experiences across the entire network for this customer journey.”
Havas Group India group CEO Rana Barua said “I am delighted to have Prashant join us at a crucial inflection point for our group in India. He comes on board at an interesting time as we continue to expand on our amazing acquisitions of Think Design and Langoor and also establish our Havas CX credentials. I am confident his understanding of the entire gamut of the consumer experience journey will make him the perfect fit to drive the next phase of growth in India and also across the network.”
“Havas CX’s competitive advantage lies in its ability to combine this deep-rooted, newly coordinated CX expertise with Havas’ rich insights into modern consumers (via its proprietary Meaningful Brands study of 350,000 consumers), its ground-breaking Prosumer studies of ‘leading edge’ consumers, and its X Index – a new barometer for measuring and managing customer experience) and its unique, integrated Village model – establishing the ability to look at customer experience from a more holistic, comprehensive and less siloed perspective. I am truly excited to be joining Havas Group and CX network, India,” added Tekwani.
Brands
Jubilant FoodWorks faces Rs 47.5 crore GST demand, plans appeal
Tax authorities flag alleged misclassification of restaurant services
MUMBAI:Â Jubilant FoodWorks Limited has landed in a tax tussle after receiving a GST demand of Rs 47.5 crore from the office of the additional commissioner of CGST and central excise in Thane, Maharashtra.
The order, issued under the provisions of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, relates to an alleged incorrect classification of certain services under the category of restaurant services. According to the tax authorities, this classification resulted in a short payment of goods and services tax for the period between the financial years 2019-20 and 2021-22.
The demand includes Rs 47.5 crore in GST along with an equal amount as penalty, in addition to applicable interest. The order was received by the company on March 13, 2026.
In a regulatory filing to the BSE Limited and the National Stock Exchange of India Limited, the company said it disagrees with the order and believes its arguments were not adequately considered.
The company is preparing to challenge the decision and plans to file an appeal. It added that once the redressal process is complete, the demand is likely to be dropped.
Despite the sizeable figure attached to the notice, the company said it does not expect any material impact on its financials, operations or other activities.
The disclosure was signed by Suman Hegde, EVP and chief financial officer, who confirmed that the company received the order at 19:06 IST on March 13 and has already initiated steps to contest it.
The development places the quick service restaurant major in the middle of a tax debate that could hinge on how certain restaurant-linked services are classified under GST rules. For now, the company appears ready to take the matter from the tax office to the appeals desk.
