MAM
Carat India ropes in Avilash Chakraborty as associate VP, strategy
MUMBAI: Carat, the flagship media agency from the house of dentsu India, has appointed Avilash Chakraborty as associate vice president (AVP), strategy. In his new role, Chakraborty will report to Anita Kotwani, CEO, Carat India and will lead the communication strategy for the agency, nationally.
Chakraborty will also help drive the ‘Designing for People’ (DFP) framework inspired by Design Thinking from the house of Carat and work closely with the office leads on the agency’s existing and new business development initiatives.
Armed with more than 13 years of experience, Chakraborty has worked with some of India’s leading advertising and media companies including JWT, Y&R and Cheil. He has led various strategy functions in Mindshare – North & East. Chakraborty has worked across areas in Innovation & Content Strategy, Integrated Media Strategy, Communications Strategy and Strategic Partnerships. He has also been part of The Walt Disney Company where he established and led multi-platform Strategic Partnerships for the iconic National Geographic brand in India.
Welcoming Chakraborty to the team, Anita Kotwani said, “Avilash brings with him a wealth of experience across creative, media and content. As we drive growth for Carat India, we needed to bring in talent that can truly transform the agency offering, and drive integrated communication planning. Avilash, with his strong strategic bent of mind and diverse experience, will work with the newly formed central strategy function at Carat and lead communication planning for the agency. I am truly excited to have him as part of the Carat family.“
Commenting on his new role, Chakraborty added, “Touted to be the world’s first media agency, Carat is a powerhouse when it comes to some of the best-in-class strategic frameworks, brand planning products, and proprietary audience insight tools that exist in the market today. Moreover, the tight-knit integrated ecosystem of dentsu India across Media, Digital, Performance, OOH, Marketing Effectiveness and Creative agencies, make it perfectly poised to cater to the ever dynamic and agile marketing needs of clients. I am looking forward to being a part of Carat’s growth story under Anita’s leadership in India and partnering with clients in placing their brands at the helm of culture, consumer, and context.”
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.
