MAM
AkzoNobel strengthens management team with two key appointments
Mumbai: In a bid to strengthen its management team, AkzoNobel India has appointed Neelima Kataria as country HR manager for the India sub-continent and Vandana Krishnia is named new marketing head for the company’s paints business.
Speaking on the change in leadership, AkzoNobel India managing director Rajiv Rajgopal said they need the leadership of high performers. “To this end, I am delighted to welcome Neelima and Vandana – two very strong leaders who enrich the organization with their sheer breadth of domain expertise, entrepreneurial passion to innovate, cross-sectoral experience and people-centric approach,” added Rajgopal.
As the new marketing head for AkzoNobel’s paint business in India, Krishnia will spearhead the strategising and execution of a long-term marketing roadmap aligned with the company’s profitable growth ambitions for India. Her key priorities will be to bolster the relationship between consumers and Dulux by strengthening the brand and shaping consumer-centric innovations.
She joins AkzoNobel after most recently serving as chief marketing and passenger experience officer at DIAL, GMR group. In her professional journey spanning 18 years, Krishnia has driven marketing management, consumer products, pricing strategy, consumer research for organisations including Hindustan Times and State Bank of India among others.
As country HR manager for AkzoNobel India, Kataria will work closely with the India leadership team and board of Akzo Nobel India towards crafting a meaningful employee experience that augments its business growth ambitions for India. “Among her key priorities will be to drive AkzoNobel’s HR strategic plan to attract the right talent, develop high-performance teams in a fast-evolving business landscape, helm people-centric policies, oversee rewards & recognitions, and embrace employee wellbeing, diversity, and inclusion to strengthen AkzoNobel as an employer of choice,” said the statement.
Kataria brings with her over two decades of HR expertise and best practices across geographies and industries. Before joining AkzoNobel, she was the head of HR at Apollo Tyres for Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa. Previously, has worked in HR leadership and expertise roles at HT Medias, Fullerton Securities, Bharti Walmart, IBM Daksh and TNT Express.
MAM
De Beers launches ‘A Diamond Is Forever’ centenary book
Visual retrospective traces 100 years of iconic slogan and cultural impact.
MUMBAI: De Beers just dropped a century’s worth of sparkle between two covers because when a four-word line becomes forever, even the book needs a forever title. De Beers Group has released A Diamond Is Forever: The Making of a Cultural Icon 1926–2026, a landmark visual retrospective celebrating 100 years of shaping the modern perception of natural diamonds. The book traces how the brand transformed diamonds from elite heirlooms into universal symbols of love, commitment and personal achievement, with rare archival material, campaign highlights and cultural commentary.
At its core is the legendary 1947 slogan “A Diamond Is Forever,” penned by N.W. Ayer copywriter Frances Gerety. The four words redefined diamonds as eternal promises, earning the title of the 20th century’s greatest advertising slogan from Advertising Age in 1999. The book explores how this idea and others like the “Two Months’ Salary” guideline and the “Right Hand Ring” influenced social rituals, female independence and consumer behaviour worldwide, including in India, where diamonds shifted from gold-centric traditions to emotionally resonant milestones.
Beyond marketing, it showcases collaborations with artists like Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí and Raoul Dufy, alongside icons such as Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor. Later campaigns, including the 1990s “Shadows” series set to Karl Jenkins’ Palladio, reinforced diamonds as timeless and unique. The narrative also addresses today’s focus on provenance, sustainability and ethical stewardship, positioning natural diamonds as symbols of both enduring love and responsible luxury.
The book arrives as De Beers marks a century of innovation in luxury marketing, from the Great Depression to the era of conscious consumption, offering a rare window into one of advertising’s most enduring brand stories.
In a world where trends fade fast, De Beers didn’t just sell diamonds, it sold forever, and now it’s bound the proof in pages that will outlast even the hardest carat.
