MAM
Starcom wins Nykaa’s media mandate
MUMBAI: Starcom has won the media duties of Nykaa, the Indian multi-brand beauty retailer selling cosmetics and wellness products.
The business was won as part of a hotly contested pitch, in which leading agency groups had participated.
Commenting on the win, Starcom India CEO Rathi Gangappa says, “Starcom, through its human experience approach and focus, will drive powerful, data-driven communications for Nykaa, a brand that revolutionises the beauty and wellness products business. Through innovative ideas and fresh thinking and insights on the brand, we demonstrated strong media value and will help Nykaa exceed its core marketing KPIs. We look forward to partnering with Nykaa on their expansion plans and are committed to their growth and success.”
On assigning the media duties to Starcom,nykaa.com chief marketing officer Hitesh Malhotra adds, “Starcom brings in a mature team that understands the periphery of beauty and the dynamicity of eCommerce – both of which are sacrosanct to Nykaa. In a fragmented landscape, where the consumer’s attention is split across multiple devices, it is imperative that knowledge of omni-channel messaging is delivered through the sheer power of media, partnerships and innovation. Starcom's valuable media inputs, experience and expertise will enhance our brand further; their hunger and start-up culture of collaboration truly mirrors our own. We are confident that Starcom will help us unlock new consumer connections and will maximise returns on our media investments.”
Nykaa is one of India’s leading e-commerce companies, offering beauty and wellness products. It also has offline presence. Today, Nykaa sells over 850 curated brands and 35,000 products.
Brands
Canva appoints MangoAI co-founder Nirmal Govind as chief algorithms officer
Acquires MangoAI to power performance driven AI at scale
MUMBAI: Design platform Canva has appointed Nirmal Govind as its first chief algorithms officer following the acquisition of AI powered creative optimisation start up MangoAI. The move signals a sharper focus on performance driven artificial intelligence across Canva’s global ecosystem.
Govind, who co founded MangoAI in 2025, built the company around reinforcement learning for generative video advertising. In simple terms, it helped brands not just create ads, but continually refine them using data driven feedback loops. With the acquisition now complete, that experimentation mindset is set to scale inside Canva’s rapidly expanding AI stack.
Before launching MangoAI, Govind served as vice president of data science and engineering at Netflix, where he spent eight years leading teams across content, studio, creative production and streaming. He was part of Netflix’s executive staff, working closely with senior leadership on creative algorithms, localisation and production innovation.
His earlier career reflects a strong operations research pedigree. He held senior technology roles at Lightning Bolt Solutions and worked in engineering and optimisation at Intel Corporation and IBM. Academically, he holds a PhD in industrial engineering and operations research from Penn State University and a master’s degree from University of California, Berkeley.
For Canva, the appointment is more than a new title. It reflects the growing importance of algorithms in shaping not only how designs look, but how they perform. As brands demand measurable outcomes from creative work, the line between art and optimisation is blurring. Canva appears keen to sit right at that intersection.
With Govind now steering its algorithms strategy, Canva is betting that the future of design will not just be beautiful, but intelligently tuned for impact.
