MAM
Ather Energy announces key appointments to support next phase of growth
Mumbai: Homegrown electric scooter brand Ather Energy has announced two key appointments with an aim to strengthen its leadership team as the company embarks on its next phase of growth. In view of its long term business objectives and goals, the company has appointed Gurinder Singh Sukhija as head of ownership management and Murali Sashidharan as head of communications and government relations.
“‘Ownership experience’ is the part of the journey that starts once the customer takes delivery of the vehicle. I am delighted to welcome Gurinder. His rich experience across industries and functions will be super-useful in helping him take the Ather ownership experience to even greater heights. Functionally speaking, Gurinder will lead the Customer Service, Vehicle Service and Ownership Products verticals,” said Ather Energy chief business officer Ravneet Singh Phokela on the appointments.
Sukhija comes with over 24 years of experience in diverse industries like banking, telecom, infrastructure (ATM) and transport networks. His core expertise lies in customer support management across geographies and managing in-house and outsourcing partners.
Prior to joining Ather, he was working with Ola as senior director and head-customer and partner support operations. He has held previous roles at CMS Infosystems, Transaction Solutions International, Mphasis among others.
Announcing Sashidharan’s appointment at Ather Energy, Ravneet further said, “Murali, with his extensive experience in corporate communication will head the Public Relations function, leading media relations, influencer marketing and public affairs. He will also manage the interface with government and industry bodies. Murali brings a wealth of experience and will play a critical role in this high-growth phase for the brand. I am delighted to have both of them join us at this critical stage of our journey.”
Sashidharan comes with 20 years of experience in goal-oriented communication strategies focussed on driving engagement with stakeholders and establishing strong brand recall across audiences. His last assignment was with Ola where he managed the communications strategy for their mobility and electric businesses. He has also led the communication mandate for Ola’s launch in London. Murali has also worked with Sony Pictures Network India, Adfactors PR, MSL 20:20, Royal Sundaram and Six Degrees PR.
To cater to growing demand, Ather Energy has commissioned its second manufacturing facility in Hosur recently taking its manufacturing capacity to 400,000 units from its current capacity of 120,000 units. It has also invested heavily in the charging infrastructure to ensure a seamless and hassle-free transition to EVs, the company said.
According to a statement, the company has registered strong year-on-year growth, and has expanded its retail footprint to 26 cities and plans to expand to around 150 Experience Centers in 100 cities by March 2023.
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Abhay Duggal joins JioStar as director of Hindi GEC ad sales
The streaming giant brings in a seasoned revenue hand as the battle for Hindi television advertising heats up
MUMBAI: Abhay Duggal has a new desk, and JioStar has a new weapon. The media and entertainment veteran has joined JioStar as director of entertainment ad sales for Hindi general entertainment channels, adding 17 years of hard-won revenue experience to one of India’s most powerful broadcasting operations.
Duggal is no stranger to big portfolios or bruising markets. Before joining JioStar, he spent a brief stint at Republic World as deputy general manager and north regional head for ad sales. Before that, he put in three years at Enterr10 Television, where he ran the north region for Dangal TV and Dangal 2, two of India’s leading free-to-air Hindi channels. The north alone accounted for more than 50 per cent of total channel revenue on his watch, a number that tends to get attention in any sales meeting.
His longest stint was at Zee Entertainment Enterprises, where he spent over six years rising to associate director of sales. There he commanded the Hindi movies cluster across seven channels, owned more than half of north India’s revenue across flagship properties including Zee TV and &TV, and closed marquee sponsorships across the Indian Premier League, Zee Rishtey Awards and Dance India Dance. He also handled monetisation for the English movies and entertainment cluster and the global news channel WION, a portfolio that would stretch most sales teams twice his size.
Earlier in his career Duggal closed what was then a Rs 3 crore single deal at Reliance Broadcast Network, one of the largest in Indian radio at the time, before that he helped launch and monetise JAINHITS, India’s first HITS-based cable and satellite platform.
His edge, by his own account, lies in marrying data and instinct: translating audience trends, inventory signals and client demands into long-term partnerships built on cost-per-rating-point discipline rather than short-term deal chasing. In a media landscape being reshaped by streaming, fragmented attention and AI-driven advertising, that kind of rigour is increasingly rare and increasingly valuable.
JioStar, which blends the scale of Reliance’s Jio platform with the content firepower of Star, is doubling down on its advertising business at precisely the moment the Hindi GEC market is getting more competitive. Bringing in someone who has spent nearly two decades doing exactly this, across some of India’s most watched channels, is a pointed statement of intent. Duggal has spent his career turning audiences into revenue. JioStar is clearly betting he can do it again, and bigger.
