MAM
Diageo India ropes in Devashish Dasgupta as corporate relations director
MUMBAI: Devashish Dasgupta began his career at Arthur Andersen in the business a& tax advisory services in 1994. In 2024, he is corporate relations director & member of the executive committee at spirits major Diageo India, a position he took up in early December 2024.It his second innings with the firm. He has been on the Ficci national executive committee for the past four years or so.
Along the way, he has been mainly involved in corporate, government affairs and relations over the past 34 years. He even founded a management and entry strategy consulting firm Corporate Catalyst which he ran for 10 years from 1995 to 2005.
Dasgupta then moved on to APCO as managing director of the public affairs & government consulting firm for three years. What followed was a two-year stint with Diageo india as executive director corporate relations. The next placement was at Google India as country head public policy and advocacy for eight months.
A little over two-year assignments each with MNCs like Yum Restaurants, SAB Miller, GSK Consumer Healthcare, came next in a corporate relations and government affairs role.
Just prior to re-joining Diageo, Devashish was at Hindustan Unilever as corporate and government affairs head for a good five years.
Brands
Nodwin Gaming appoints Sonal Varma as global director of live events
Former Comic Con India VP to scale global gaming and pop culture experiences
MUMBAI: Nodwin Gaming has appointed Sonal Varma as global director of live events, bringing on board a seasoned architect of fan communities as the company accelerates its global push in gaming, esports and youth culture.
Varma steps into the role with more than 15 years of experience creating large-scale fan experiences and cultural platforms. She is best known for her long stint at Comic Con India, where she most recently served as vice president and helped transform the convention into one of the country’s most recognisable pop culture gatherings.
At Nodwin Gaming, Varma will lead the strategy, design and execution of the company’s global live event initiatives. Her mandate includes expanding flagship intellectual properties and developing new formats that bring gaming communities together across emerging markets.
Over the years, Varma has been closely associated with building and scaling community-led events such as Comic Con India, Geekly and the Indian Cosplay Championship. Her work has focused on turning niche fandoms into thriving cultural ecosystems by blending entertainment, creator culture and brand partnerships.
Her appointment comes at a time when Nodwin Gaming is expanding its international events footprint through properties such as DreamHack India, NH7 Weekender, Comic Con India and the Battlegrounds Mobile India Series. The company has also been growing its presence across Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa through esports tournaments, gaming festivals and fan conventions.
Nodwin Gaming co-founder and managing director Akshat Rathee, said Varma’s experience in building fan-centric platforms would play a key role in the company’s next phase of growth.
“Sonal brings a deep understanding of how live experiences can bring communities together around gaming and pop culture. As we expand our global live events footprint, her experience will help us create experiences that feel authentic and meaningful for audiences across markets,” he said.
Varma said the scale of opportunity at Nodwin Gaming made the move particularly exciting.
“Joining Nodwin Gaming at this moment feels incredibly exciting because the canvas is so large. There are new audiences, new markets and new formats waiting to be explored. I’m looking forward to working with teams across the network to create live experiences that celebrate gaming culture while staying rooted in the communities that power it,” she said.
Over the past few years, Nodwin Gaming has built an ecosystem that stretches across competitive gaming, creator communities, music festivals and youth culture platforms. With Varma now leading global live events, the company is looking to further expand its flagship properties while experimenting with new formats that blend gaming, entertainment and fandom for audiences around the world.
