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Cushman taps retail ace Sona Aggarwal to lead APAC’s shopfront strategy
MUMBAI: She’s opened stores, managed cross-border teams, and built brands now she’s opening new doors for Cushman & Wakefield. Cushman & Wakefield has appointed retail veteran Sona Aggarwal as managing director, head of retail sales and strategy, Asia Pacific, in a move that signals the real estate giant’s intensified focus on the region’s fast-evolving consumer landscape. Based in Singapore, Sona steps into a newly created role aimed at boosting retail growth across markets and connecting global clients with on-ground insights and solutions.
Sona brings over 25 years of experience in brand management and retail operations, having launched and scaled 200 plus stores across APAC and led cross-functional teams of 1,300 plus people. Her portfolio spans everything from beauty and apparel to healthcare, home furnishings, and watches, with deep expertise in tailoring go-to-market strategies for diverse local markets.
“This is a significant appointment for our retail business in Asia Pacific,” said Tenant Representation chief executive for India and SEA & APAC Anshul Jain. “Sona brings a client-side view sharpened by years at iconic global retail brands giving us the edge we need to evolve with the times.”
In her new role, Sona will spearhead Cushman & Wakefield’s APAC retail strategy, working closely with local teams to expand client partnerships and integrate the firm’s global retail insights with local execution. The focus: to unlock growth in both mature and emerging markets, and build a sustainable, future-ready retail platform.
“Retail has never been more dynamic,” Sona said. “Demographically and psychographically, the APAC region is undergoing a seismic shift. With a rising middle class, young digital natives, and a booming appetite for global and homegrown brands, this market is ripe with opportunity.”
She also pointed to outbound momentum: “The Western world is discovering Asia in new ways whether it’s in health and beauty, wellness, hospitality or F&B. At the same time, we’re seeing a tech-driven surge in categories like Auto and EV, and a growing need for differentiated luxury and financial experiences to match the rise of high-net-worth consumers.”
Sona’s mission? To stitch together Cushman & Wakefield’s operational scale, talent and data insights with local understanding to deliver retail strategies that are not just globally informed but culturally attuned.
As the lines between physical and digital retail blur, and consumption patterns evolve at warp speed, Cushman & Wakefield is betting on leaders who understand both the shop floor and the boardroom. And in Sona Aggarwal, they’ve found someone who’s fluent in both.
MUMBAI: In India’s fast-moving payments race, Visa has just swiped in a new leader. The company has named Suresh Sethi as its India country head, marking a key leadership shift as it sharpens its focus on digital payments growth in the market. Sethi steps into the role following his recent exit from Protean eGov Technologies, where he served as chief executive officer. He succeeds Sandeep Ghosh, who has moved on after more than four years at Visa to pursue an external opportunity.
The appointment comes at a time when Visa is doubling down on its expansion strategy across India and the wider region, deepening partnerships and accelerating adoption in an increasingly competitive digital payments ecosystem.
Sethi brings with him a broad, cross-market perspective shaped by decades of experience across corporate banking, retail financial services, mobile money and large-scale government technology initiatives. He began his career at Citigroup, where he spent 14 years working across India, Africa, South America and the United States, focusing on transaction banking services within the corporate bank.
His appointment signals a blend of institutional experience and market familiarity qualities that could prove critical as Visa navigates a landscape where fintech innovation, regulatory evolution and consumer adoption are all accelerating at once.
As digital payments in India continue to scale rapidly, the leadership change underscores a simple reality, in a market where every tap, scan and swipe counts, who leads the charge can matter just as much as the technology itself.
