MAM
Sapientnitro India appoints Amod Dani as creative head for north
MUMBAI: SapientNitroSM has strengthened its creative offering by bringing on board Amod Dani, previously Vice President Creative at AffinityX, as Creative Head for the Northern region.
With over a decade of experience in advertising, Amod has worked with brands like Škoda, Citibank, McDonald’s, Cadbury, Asian Paints, Procter & Gamble, Vista Print (Global) and won awards at festivals like Cannes Lions, New York Festivals, The One show, The Clio awards, Spikes Asia, AdFest Asia, Goafest and The Award Australia. At AffinityX, Amod was responsible for spearheading and driving the creative vision for a staff of 1,900 highly skilled creatives to provide white-label creative and marketing services for companies that serve small and medium businesses (SMBs). Prior to AffinityX, Amod played a key creative leadership role at Publicis, Contract and Leo Burnett.
Reporting into SapientNitro India’s Chief Creative Officer K.V. Sridhar (Pops), Amod will be responsible for driving creative excellence across all clients in the northern region of India, as well as lead and shape the team to deliver work that breaks boundaries at the intersection of technology and story.
Sapient India CCO KV Sridhar said, “As we continue to build our capabilities and momentum in delivering a unique blend of storytelling with the power of technology, we are delighted to welcome a creative talent of Amod’s caliber to our team. He will not only add more muscle to our creative craft with his industry insights but also bring diverse global experience and leadership skills. Together with the entire SapientNitro creative team, Amod will strongly contribute to help shape our creative excellence and deliver dynamic business results for our clients.”
On his new appointment Dani commented, “I am absolutely thrilled to join SapientNitro and look forward to be a part of the legacy of creative excellence that is native to the organization. I believe that innovative use of technology and an integrated approach towards problem solving is the way ahead. SapientNitro is leading the change for brand-customer engagement globally and their vision is incredibly relevant in today’s hyper-connected world.”
Brands
MS Dhoni joins Cars24’s Crashfree India as Goodwill Ambassador
Cricketing legend lends his voice to the fight against road fatalities in India.
MUMBAI: MS Dhoni has traded his cricket whites for a new kind of captaincy, one that aims to save lives on India’s roads. The former India captain has been appointed Goodwill Ambassador for Crashfree India, Cars24’s national road safety initiative. The move brings one of the country’s most trusted and disciplined public figures to a cause that desperately needs both credibility and urgency.
India continues to record the highest number of traffic fatalities globally. In 2024 alone, 1,80,000 people lost their lives on Indian roads, one every three minutes. The country has roughly 1% of the world’s vehicles but accounts for 11 per cent of global road deaths. Shockingly, 66 per cent of those killed were between 18 and 34 years old, the most productive age group, and nearly 10,000 were school students. Seven in ten fatalities were linked to overspeeding.
Dhoni, known for his calm judgment under pressure, did not mince words when speaking about the issue. “A vehicle gives you freedom, but it also gives you responsibility,” he said. “On our roads, too many people still see safety as a rule to follow only when someone is watching. That mindset has cost us far too much.”
He added: “We already know what is going wrong. We know how many lives are being lost. What we need now is not more excuses. We need more responsibility, more discipline, and more respect for life.”
For Cars24, the association goes beyond a celebrity endorsement. Founder and CEO Vikram Chopra described Dhoni’s involvement as a game-changer: “His understanding of Indian roads is grounded in lived experience. He holds us to a higher standard and his involvement challenges us to push this mission further.”
Crashfree India aims to shift the national conversation on road safety from reaction to prevention, from accepting deaths as routine to treating them as the urgent failure they are. With Dhoni on board, the initiative gains a powerful, trusted voice that transcends statistics and connects directly with millions of Indians.
In a country where dangerous driving is too often mistaken for confidence, Dhoni’s message is refreshingly clear: true strength lies in control, discipline, and respect for life. When one of India’s most respected captains decides to lead this fight, the conversation suddenly becomes much harder to ignore.
The roads just got a new captain. And this time, the goal is not to win a trophy but to save lives.
