MAM
Bates restructures at the top
MUMBAI: Sandeep Pathak and Sonal Dabral are moving on from their positions at Bates India as the agency reshapes following the network repositioning at the end of 2011.
Dabral is all set to shift base to Mumbai and bid adieu to Singapore where he was stationed while he served as India chairman and regional ECD. He will be joining DDB Mudra as chairman – CCO.
Bates chairman Tim Isaac said, “At Bates he had resumed a close working relationship with me – we had worked together as a head of office and ECD partnership to great effect at Ogilvy Singapore. Sonal is a great storyteller and has rich creative talents. I wish him all the very best in his new role at DDB Mudra.”
“Sandeep has been with Bates for 4 years now and has done an excellent job of catapulting the Mumbai office. Sandeep hasn’t decided on his next assignment yet. I wish him the very best for his future,” he further added.
Issac said, “With our strengths in strategic planning, creativity, engagement solutions and digital along with the high quality talent pool, we are well set up to provide integrated marketing communications services that take full advantage of the new technologies at our disposal. That is what the ‘changengage’ positioning is all about. We look forward to leading the way as the model agency of the future.”
The agency said it would continue with its growth plans on the back of a strong India management and a suite of offerings across advertising, out of home and digital activation with entities like Bates WallStreet & Landscape and Bates Sercon powering Bates India group.
The management team at Bates in India currently includes Dheeraj Sinha (regional planning director), Dinesh Shetty (group CFO), Sagar Mahabaleshwarkar (NCD), Praveen Vadhera (country head OOH), Rajesh Ghatge (CEO Sercon ), Srijib Mallik (head, Delhi), Abeer Chakravarty (head, Kolkata) and Vasantha Krishnamurthy (head, Bangalore). The agency has a national presence across five offices including Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Kolkata and roster of clients.
Brands
IndiGo appoints captain Rohit Rikhye as head of operations control centre
Leadership change follows dgca penalties and december flight disruptions
MUMBAI: IndiGo has appointed Captain Rohit Rikhye as the new head of its operations control centre (OCC). The appointment, effective immediately following an internal announcement on Friday, sees Rikhye take over from Jason Herter. He will report directly to the chief operating officer (COO), Isidre Porqueras.
Captain Rikhye brings over 11 years of experience within IndiGo to the role. He previously served as chief pilot for standards, QA, and ops safety. In his new position, he is responsible for the airline’s central nerve centre, overseeing flight operations, including real-time coordination, planning, and dispatch; tracking and compliance, ensuring all flights adhere to air traffic control and safety regulations; and resource management, handling crew scheduling and rostering across the network.
The leadership transition comes after a period of significant operational challenges in December 2025. These lapses resulted in strict intervention from the directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) in January 2026.
According to statements made by additional solicitor general Chetan Sharma on behalf of the civil aviation ministry, the regulator imposed penalties totalling Rs 22 crore on the airline. The regulatory response also led to the dismissal of a senior vice-president to address the systemic issues identified during the disruptions.
The OCC is critical to the airline’s daily performance, managing everything from flight paths to crew availability. By appointing a veteran from the safety and standards division, IndiGo aims to strengthen its regulatory compliance and ensure operational stability moving forward.
