MAM
Ants Digital strengthens leadership team with Faisal Haq as COO
Mumbai: Ants Digital, a tech-led marketing agency based out of Gurgaon, has appointed Faisal Haq as chief operating officer.
Haq comes with over 21 years of experience and has joined Ants after working for WATConsult-Dentsu International for over 6.5 years in the capacity of EVP operations and business development. In his two decades of rich experience, he has worked in different positions with Roshcomm (Kingdom of Bahrain), Askme.com, Crosshairs Communication, and Avian Media. He brings with him a very good experience of digital and technology in both domestic and international markets.
“Faisal comes with a great understanding of different markets which will hugely help Ants in strengthening its footprint across the globe. Our bullish approach in getting great clients onboard has served us well as we have acquired some noteworthy clients in the space of infrastructure, health and wellness, defence, and insurance sector,” stated Ants Digital CEO Sanjay Arora. “With Faisal joining Ants, the team is excited to serve more extensive mandates even in the International markets. By investing heavily in technology and hiring good talent, we have been working towards scaling our operations across Gurgaon, Mumbai, and Hyderabad.”
Haq comes with over 21 years of experience in integrated marketing, digital media marketing, social media, data-driven marketing, and advertising with domain exposure with various startups, emerging tech, technology, mobile media, programmatic, consulting, regional and global market.
“Ants has been scaling ideas and its business pan India, and I am excited to build and grow this further,” said Haq on his new role. “The online prowess and unique mix of service offerings, including digital, brand building, creatives and content and technology, make the whole offering more future-ready and agile. I am really excited to be part of the team and look forward to this challenge.”
MAM
Sameer Nair shares heartfelt note as he exits Applause Entertainment
After nine years building the streamer’s content engine, one of India’s best-known TV men is moving on
MUMBAI: Sameer Nair is out. The chief executive of Applause Entertainment, the content studio backed by Kumar Mangalam Birla’s media empire, has announced his departure after nearly nine years at the helm, closing the chapter on one of Indian entertainment’s more quietly consequential careers.
Nair, who built Applause from the ground up in its current avatar, oversaw a slate that spanned Indian originals and international adaptations, threading together a hub-and-spoke business model that partnered with streaming platforms, broadcasters and production houses alike. The results were uneven, as they always are in content, but the ambition was not.
In a post on LinkedIn, Nair was generous to his outgoing patron. He thanked Birla for being an “inspirational boss and a great patron of the arts,” and signed off with a cheerful “Au Revoir” and a promise to remain Applause’s biggest cheerleader. Whether that sentiment survives the next chapter remains to be seen.
No successor has been named. Applause Entertainment did not immediately comment.
Nair built the machine. Now someone else has to run it — and in a streaming market that is simultaneously consolidating and convulsing, that is no small ask.
