MAM
Data analytics’ global potential stands at $30 billion: Gain Theory’s Muthuraman
MUMBAI: Marketing is in transition and the consumer journey is getting increasingly complex due to the increase in the number of channels. Consumers are now constantly interacting with brands and hence, marketing is now ‘always on.’
Difficulty in discerning actionable information from an expanding set of data and technology, confusion around terminology and jargon, multiple answers to a single business question, the need for faster, smarter predictive insights is what gave birth to Gain Theory.
The company, with three key hubs in New York, London and Bengaluru was born when WPP decided to merge two of its existing companies in order to help marketing and insight professionals solve their pain points.
Speaking to Indiantelevision.com about how the company helps marketers resolve their concerns, Gain Theory worldwide CEO Jason Harrison says, “What we do in the context of marketing is that we don’t necessarily do analytics around the operational aspect of businesses or operations in the supply chain, we instead focus on our unique expertise, which is understanding the knowledge of data and measurements with various event analytics, techniques and approaches, to help marketers arrive at their marketing tactics and whatever they are trying to accomplish.”
With its three centers, Gain Theory is keen to help marketers from all possible markets. However, with marketing being its focus, the company doesn’t plan to target any particular category of clients.
Gain Theory CEO APAC Sunder Muthuraman adds, “Our focus is marketing. So it doesn’t matter if I’m selling soaps or an e-commerce business. We essentially address to the needs of the clients. We work with CPG, movie studios, retail, finance and so on. As long as there is a marketing problem and that is related to data and has data, we are in for it.”
Throwing light on the importance of dashboard, Muthuraman says, “It depends on how badly the client wants to answer that question. Typically, that’s when they will push us and we will bring in our expertise and try and solve their question. What dashboards are meant to do is to help them draw conclusions or collectively help us draw conclusions and being analysed. So the evolution now is that clients recognize the purpose of data visualisation. A dashboard, just like that of a car, tells you how fast you are driving, how much fuel is left, how many miles you have travelled and these are fundamentally important things. Similarly, clients now have begun to understand the dashboard; what it should contain. It is fundamental for me to take decisions on what could be done differently in the future in marketing.”
The understanding of the firm and that of the client is very different, hence it is a challenge. Muthuraman further asserts, “While that’s the challenge, it is also the opportunity of doing something in a better way and guiding the client accordingly with the data in hand. So if everybody did everything that we wanted them to do, then we have to go find something else.”
He adds, “What we believe is that the only way both of us can speak the same language is by getting the common paradigm and data. As long as you know that the data is reliable, you cannot expect us to flip the results. This is a journey, which not everybody is interested in.”
Harrison asserts, “The fundamental challenges that marketers face are consistent and they tend to be different from category to category. We at Gain Theory started exploring the audience and consumer level data in this market to better understand consumer behaviour.”
According to Harrison, while there are markets where an extensive research is impossible because of lack of the quantum of data, but such isn’t the case with India. “Then we have US, Brazil and UK where data is available at a large level,” he adds.
Muthuraman believes that the industry is going through exciting times. “We are currently a $30 billion industry globally. This could vary, since there is nobody who has really measured the market. We live in exciting times and data makes it even more exciting,” he signs off.
Brands
Apple CEO Tim Cook to step down after 15 years, John Ternus to take over
Leadership shake-up sees long-time hardware chief step up from September
CUPERTINO: Apple has confirmed that chief executive officer Tim Cook will step down from his role and transition to executive chairman, with senior vice president of hardware engineering John Ternus set to take over as CEO from September 1, 2026.
The transition, approved unanimously by the board, marks a carefully planned leadership shift at one of the world’s most valuable companies. Cook will remain CEO through the summer, working closely with Ternus to ensure a smooth handover before moving into his new role, where he will continue to support Apple and engage with policymakers globally.
In a memo to employees, Apple CEO Tim Cook reflected on his 15-year tenure, recalling the moment Steve Jobs asked him to step into the role. “It was an emotional and challenging moment for all of us at Apple,” he wrote, adding that the company’s core values, from simplicity and innovation to a commitment to improving lives, remain unchanged.
Explaining his decision, Cook said the company’s strong roadmap and future outlook made this the right time for a transition. “I have never been more optimistic about Apple’s future,” he noted, while announcing Ternus as his successor. He described Ternus as “a visionary in his own right” with “remarkable integrity” and the right leader to guide Apple into its next phase.
Cook said, “John Ternus has the mind of an engineer, the soul of an innovator, and the heart to lead with integrity and with honour.”
Ternus, in his own note to employees, struck a steady, execution-focused tone. Ternus said, “It has been such a privilege to lead the hardware engineering team… I still plan to be very hands-on,” signalling continuity rather than a strategic reset.
As part of the leadership reshuffle, Ternus will step away from leading hardware engineering, with Tom Marieb taking over the role. Marieb will report to Johny Srouji, who assumes an expanded position as chief hardware officer, aligning hardware development more closely with Apple’s silicon and technology teams.
Cook also used his memo to thank employees, calling them “the most remarkable people in the world” and crediting them for building Apple into what it is today. A town hall has been scheduled at the Steve Jobs Theater to discuss the transition further.
The leadership change also sees Arthur Levinson move to the role of lead independent director, while Ternus joins Apple’s board.
Cook’s tenure has been defined by massive growth and expansion, with Apple’s market value rising from around $350 billion in 2011 to $4 trillion, alongside the launch of new product categories and a booming services business. Ternus, a 25-year Apple veteran, has played a central role in shaping the company’s hardware roadmap, from iPhone and Mac to newer innovations in materials and sustainability.
The transition signals a generational shift, but not a dramatic change in direction. If anything, both memos point to continuity, discipline and a belief that Apple’s next chapter will be built on the same values that shaped its last.
