Brands
Amar Kondekar powers brand growth at Jio Creative Labs
MUMBAI: Amar Kondekar has quietly but decisively put his stamp on Jio Creative Labs. One year into his role as head of brand services and business growth, he has emerged as a steady force behind the company’s growing reputation as a modern creative powerhouse built for scale, speed and consistency.
Over the past 12 months, Kondekar has focused on something often overlooked in creative businesses: systems. His work centres on aligning creativity, content, production and delivery into integrated frameworks that can move fast without losing soul. The result is a smoother engine powering an increasingly complex brand and content ecosystem.
At Jio Creative Labs, Kondekar has overseen a wide mix of mandates, from Reliance Consumer Products to cultural platforms such as Nmacc, alongside global and domestic brands including Invisalign, Muthoot Finance and Radio City. His remit also spans key government initiatives. In total, he manages work across more than 40 categories, covering everything from FMCG and fashion to healthcare, financial services and public-sector communication.
A defining feature of his leadership has been the thoughtful integration of AI into creative and operational workflows. From planning and execution to quality control and optimisation, these AI-led systems are designed not to replace creativity, but to sharpen it. The aim is simple: better efficiency, stronger predictability and performance at scale, without dulling human imagination.
Before joining Jio Creative Labs, Kondekar was closely associated with content-led marketing production at Netflix. There, he contributed to campaigns for global hits such as Stranger Things, Money Heist and Extraction, as well as Indian originals including Heeramandi and The Great Indian Kapil Sharma Show. His focus was on building storytelling frameworks that connected culture, fandom and audience growth.
Earlier in his career, he led integrated brand mandates across sectors, working with brands such as JSW Steel, Hershey’s, Park Avenue, Everyuth and Bajaj Electricals. These experiences helped shape his grounding in mass-scale brand strategy and execution.
Beyond boardrooms and brand plans, Kondekar is deeply invested in people. He mentors interns, is involved in building Sole, a School of Learning and Experience, and brings his credentials as a certified NLP executive coach, yoga instructor and triathlete into a leadership style rooted in balance and performance.
As Jio Creative Labs continues to evolve at the crossroads of creativity, content, AI and commerce, Kondekar’s approach stands out for its long view. Less flash, more foundation and a belief that the best ideas travel further when backed by the right systems.
Brands
UltraTech Cement appoints Jayant Dua as managing director
Dua will succeed K. C. Jhanwar after his term ends in December 2026
MUMBAI: UltraTech Cement, the flagship cement arm of the Aditya Birla Group, has elevated Jayant Dua as managing director, effective 1 April, 2026.
The company’s board also approved his appointment as additional director, managing director and key managerial personnel, effective 1 January, 2027, following the completion of the current managing director K C Jhanwar’s term on 31 December, 2026, according to a regulatory filing.
Dua will serve as managing director for a four-year term from 1 January, 2027 to 31 December, 2030.
A veteran executive with more than 37 years of professional experience, Dua joined the Aditya Birla Group’s cement business in 1996 and spent nearly a decade in various functional and leadership roles.
Over the past two decades, he has held several profit-and-loss and chief executive responsibilities across multiple group businesses, including insulators, insurance, Century Cement and the chlor-alkali segment. In 2023, he was elevated to lead the group’s renewables and textiles businesses.
Within the group, Dua has received several internal honours, including the chairman’s individual award for exceptional contribution in 2002, the outstanding leader award in 2009 and the leader of leaders recognition in 2022.
He holds an engineering degree from Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, an MBA from International Management Institute and has completed the advanced management programme at Harvard Business School.
