MAM
Tribes Communication appoints Himanka Das as chief strategy officer
Mumbai: Tribes Communication has appointed Himanka Das as chief strategy officer to lead the organization’s strategic vision and drive its ambitious expansion goals. In under a decade, the group has transformed from an out-of-home (OOH) solutions service provider into a formidable comprehensive marketing powerhouse.
As an industry leader, Himanka Das brings with him more than two decades of experience in media and marketing communication, having worked across 250 plus brands and managed large investment portfolios. He is a seasoned executive with a strong strategy orientation to drive business outcomes and has worn many hats before taking on the role of chief strategy officer at Tribes. In the recent past, Himanka was serving as country director at Infomo, a global AI AdTech pioneer in the first-party data space. He has held leadership roles at Dentsu International for over nine years, which included three years as CEO of its group company, Vizeum India and as EVP Carat, India. Himanka began his career at Madison World, building his career working at Initiative, Lintas Media Group, FCB Ulka of IPG and Starcom of Publicis Media.
Prior to joining Infomo, Himanka took an academic sabbatical to earn a postgraduate qualification in data science from International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Bangalore to accelerate his analytical skills. He also has a Masters in International Marketing and Mass Communication Studies from University of Pune.
Expressing his excitement about joining Tribes Communication, Himanka stated, “What impressed me is the pace and agility with which Tribes has made a cutting-edge mark in the marketing industry in less than a decade, leading transformations in disruptive technology such as AI, CRM data, analytics and continuously evolving consumer behaviour. It’s inspiring and an honour to be part of such an entrepreneurial team and culture, driving ambitious future plans. I am excited to work closely with the diverse business units, bringing strategic connections to engage and help consumers to make decisions in their purchase journey.”
Welcoming Himanka, Tribes Communication MD and chairman Gour Gupta said, “I am extremely pleased to welcome Himanka to the Tribes family, especially at such a pivotal time. Himanka’s profound industry knowledge and strategic acumen will be invaluable as we continue to innovate and deliver exceptional value to our clients. In addition, our shared values of business excellence and forward-thinking are perfectly aligned and I look forward to this collaboration, which will be instrumental in driving our next phase of growth.”
As chief strategy officer, Himanka will oversee the development and implementation of the company’s strategic initiatives, working closely with the executive team to identify new growth opportunities and enhance operational efficiencies.
AD Agencies
Abhay Duggal joins JioStar as director of Hindi GEC ad sales
The streaming giant brings in a seasoned revenue hand as the battle for Hindi television advertising heats up
MUMBAI: Abhay Duggal has a new desk, and JioStar has a new weapon. The media and entertainment veteran has joined JioStar as director of entertainment ad sales for Hindi general entertainment channels, adding 17 years of hard-won revenue experience to one of India’s most powerful broadcasting operations.
Duggal is no stranger to big portfolios or bruising markets. Before joining JioStar, he spent a brief stint at Republic World as deputy general manager and north regional head for ad sales. Before that, he put in three years at Enterr10 Television, where he ran the north region for Dangal TV and Dangal 2, two of India’s leading free-to-air Hindi channels. The north alone accounted for more than 50 per cent of total channel revenue on his watch, a number that tends to get attention in any sales meeting.
His longest stint was at Zee Entertainment Enterprises, where he spent over six years rising to associate director of sales. There he commanded the Hindi movies cluster across seven channels, owned more than half of north India’s revenue across flagship properties including Zee TV and &TV, and closed marquee sponsorships across the Indian Premier League, Zee Rishtey Awards and Dance India Dance. He also handled monetisation for the English movies and entertainment cluster and the global news channel WION, a portfolio that would stretch most sales teams twice his size.
Earlier in his career Duggal closed what was then a Rs 3 crore single deal at Reliance Broadcast Network, one of the largest in Indian radio at the time, before that he helped launch and monetise JAINHITS, India’s first HITS-based cable and satellite platform.
His edge, by his own account, lies in marrying data and instinct: translating audience trends, inventory signals and client demands into long-term partnerships built on cost-per-rating-point discipline rather than short-term deal chasing. In a media landscape being reshaped by streaming, fragmented attention and AI-driven advertising, that kind of rigour is increasingly rare and increasingly valuable.
JioStar, which blends the scale of Reliance’s Jio platform with the content firepower of Star, is doubling down on its advertising business at precisely the moment the Hindi GEC market is getting more competitive. Bringing in someone who has spent nearly two decades doing exactly this, across some of India’s most watched channels, is a pointed statement of intent. Duggal has spent his career turning audiences into revenue. JioStar is clearly betting he can do it again, and bigger.
