MAM
Apple appoints first marketing director for India
MUMBAI: Global technology giant, Apple has appointed Poonam Kaul as the director for marketing for India. She will be the first person to lead Apple in India, as it is a new role the company has created in India.
She is said to join Apple in the next few weeks.
At Apple, Kaul will be responsible for product marketing, advertising and communications.
She is currently serving her notice period at Pepsico India as the company’s vice president for communications and CSR. Kaul also worked with leading mobile company, Nokia India as director for communications IMEA between 2012-2015 before the company was sold to Microsoft.
An official statement from PepsiCo AMENA vice president for communications Krista Pilot read, “We are sad to see Poonam leave PepsiCo India, as she has been a terrific leader who has driven brand and corporate communications to positive results during her tenure. We wish her the best in her new role, and know she will be a lifelong fan of PepsiCo and our brand.”
MAM
Beacon Group appoints Dr Rajesh Patel as Group CEO
36-year healthcare veteran to lead Beacon Diagnostics, Vector Biotek, Biogeny.
MUMBAI: A new chief, a fresh diagnosis and a sharper prescription for growth. Beacon Group has appointed Dr Rajesh Patel as its Group Chief Executive Officer, effective April 1, 2026, signalling a decisive push to scale its presence in the diagnostics and IVD space. Patel steps into the role with 36 years of experience across the healthcare and diagnostics industry, bringing a career shaped by leadership roles spanning sales, marketing, business development and operational strategy. His mandate is both expansive and precise: to steer the group’s overall strategic direction while tightening coordination across its three core entities Beacon Diagnostics, Vector Biotek and Biogeny Diagnostics.
In practical terms, that means driving cross-company synergies, accelerating market expansion and strengthening organisational capability areas increasingly critical as diagnostic players compete for scale in a fragmented yet rapidly evolving healthcare ecosystem. The group is positioning itself to capture unmet demand across chain laboratories, key accounts and standalone labs, segments that remain underserved despite growing diagnostic needs.
The appointment comes at a time when the In Vitro Diagnostics (IVD) sector in India is entering a more competitive and innovation-led phase, with companies focusing not just on product pipelines but also on service delivery, integration and customer-centric models. Beacon’s leadership appears to be betting that Patel’s execution-focused approach can help translate ambition into operational momentum.
Welcoming the appointment, Chairman Dr D K Joshi described Patel’s induction as a strategic move aligned with the group’s long-term vision, emphasising the role of leadership depth in navigating the next phase of growth.
For Beacon Group, the message is clear, in a sector where precision matters, leadership is the new differentiator—and this appointment is intended to set the tone for what comes next.
