AD Agencies
Colgate’s crown jewel Priyanka Khaneja Gandhi heads to Amazon
MUMBAI: She’s brushed up brand campaigns for over a decade and a half— now she’s scrubbing into a new gig. After a sparkling 16-year stint at Colgate-Palmolive (she resigned in mid-2024), Priyanka Khaneja Gandhi has moved on to lead Amazon India’s advertising marketing and creative solutions as head of Amazon India Ads Marketing.
The Mumbai-based marketing powerhouse, long synonymous with Colgate’s integrated brand experiences, joined Amazon in April 2025. At the ecommerce behemoth, she will helm creative and marketing solutions for its burgeoning ads business — a space heating up as retail media becomes the new battleground for digital dollars.
At Colgate, Gandhi led from the front as director – integrated brand experience, overseeing everything from media strategy to e-commerce marketing. She commanded advertising spends north of Rs 500 crore annually, driving digital transformation and performance metrics across social, search, video, and influencer platforms. Her remit spanned digital content, shopper campaigns, data strategy and even building a first-party data ecosystem — all of which align seamlessly with Amazon’s ad-tech ambitions.
Before Colgate, she sharpened her skills at top media shops like Madison, Carat, Starcom, and Enterprise Nexus. Across more than two decades in the trenches, Gandhi’s been a steady force behind brand communication, media efficiency and digital innovation.
Now, with Amazon turning up the heat in the Indian advertising market, all eyes will be on how Gandhi retools the e-retailer’s pitch to brands and buyers alike — from toothbrushes to tech.
AD Agencies
Tawana Burnett to lead social and influencer jury at Abby Awards 2026
Meta’s Apac leader takes the reins for Abby Awards, adding flair to social content
MUMBAI: Tawana Burnett, Meta’s Head of Top Accounts and Agencies for Apac, has been named jury chair for the new social content and influencer ,arketing category at the Abby Awards 2026, powered by The One Club | The One Show.
With a 25-year career spanning the US, EMEA, Latam, and Apac, Tawana has worked on campaigns for some of the world’s biggest brands and leading advertising agencies. At Meta, she guides CMOs, business leaders, and agencies on harnessing digital and emerging advertising solutions to accelerate brand growth.
Before joining Meta, Tawana led award-winning product teams at Intuit, LeapFrog, Johnson & Johnson, and Pfizer, helping launch iconic products including QuickBooks, Listerine, Advil, and ChapStick.
A champion of diversity, she was featured in Adweek’s Women Trailblazers in 2019 for mentoring more than 15 women-led startups and for her work on the #biascorrect campaign that promotes women in leadership. She was also recognised in Ad Age’s Global Leading Women Class of 2023, The List in 2024, and served as juror for Spikes Asia and Mad Stars 2024.
Tawana has held leadership roles in the Singapore Inclusion Council at Meta, the IAB SouthEast Asia & India Board, and currently serves on the boards of IAA SEA and the Ronald McDonald House in New York City. Originally from New York, she now lives in Singapore with her husband and daughter.
The Abby Awards 2026, presented by The One Club | The One Show, will be held during Goafest 2026 from 20 to 22 May in Goa, celebrating creativity across the region.
