MAM
DDB Mudra Group elevates Aditya Kanthy & Amit Kekre
MUMBAI: Aditya Kanthy and Amit Kekre, currently senior VPs, DDB Mudra, have been elevated to the role of national strategic planning heads by the agency.
In their new roles, Kanthy and Kekre will jointly take on the national mandate of looking after strategy and planning for all of DDB Mudra offices in the West, North, South as well as Tribal, Rapp and Remedy. Arun Sharma in Delhi and Rajesh Sharma in Bangalore will work closely with Kanthy and Kekre respectively.
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On the elevations, DDB Mudra Group group CEO & MD Madhukar Kamath said, “Aditya and Amit make a formidable team, both thorough with all facets of strategy planning, yet each with their unique worldview. They have both contributed greatly to strengthening the agency’s creative-effectiveness credentials and I am sure together they will take it to greater heights.”
During his decade long stint with the DDB Mudra Group Kanthy has contributed to some of India’s most loved brands and trusted companies and has over a dozen wins across categories (including health & digital) at the Effies.
Kekre began his planning career in 2001, and has worked with agencies in India and abroad. He was featured as one of 10 best planners across Asia Pacific by Media Magazine. On his new role, he said, “Imagination is the beginning of all planning. The last two and a half years I?ve been with DDB Mudra, I am glad this personal belief has found a turf on which it flourishes. Ours is a truly remarkable team – as adept with tools and processes, as it is with the most fundamental aspect of all communications? exploring people, imagining a different reality, imagining newer narratives. I am proud of our unique and in more ways than one, ‘total’ planning offering. Aditya is an amazing mind. The two of us together are only one of the visible signs of DDB Mudra?s core pillars, Together, we are better.”
“DDB Mudra has a legacy of putting strategic thinking at the heart of the work we do. Over the years our management has displayed a serious commitment to planning by investing in an excellent team across the country and it’s been paying off. The product’s improved, our clients vouch for the quality of the thinking and the planners have forged deep partnerships with the creative and account management teams. With top class brand, media and activation planning under the same roof, we could lead the way in shaping the discipline. Amit’s a terrific partner, we enjoy working with each other and we’re raring to go”, said Kanthy.
MAM
Sagar Kadam joins JioStar as senior director – ecosystem partnerships
Veteran from SonyLiv takes charge of subscription and ecosystem growth for JioHotstar from January 2026.
MUMBAI: Sagar Kadam just switched teams in the OTT big leagues because when you’re this good at partnerships, even the streaming giants line up to sign you. Sagar Kadam has joined JioStar as senior director for ecosystem & subscription partnerships for the digital venture (JioHotstar), effective January 2026. In his new role in Mumbai, he will focus on building and scaling subscription revenue, ecosystem alliances, and strategic partnerships across telcos, banks, ISPs, connected devices, e-commerce, fintech, gifting, rewards, loyalty channels, and more.
Kadam brings deep experience in digital growth and monetisation. He most recently served as associate vice president for partnerships, growth and monetization at Sony Pictures Networks India (SonyLiv) from October 2021 to January 2026, where he drove subscription revenue through partnerships and business development. Before that, he was associate director for partnerships, growth and monetization at Zee5 (April 2019–October 2021).
His earlier career includes nearly nine years at Shemaroo Entertainment (2010–2019) in various business development roles, a stint at I-Free (2008–2010) as manager for content & alliances, and an early position at Enable Mobile Technologies (2007–2008).
Kadam holds an MBA in Marketing from ITM Group of Institutions (2011–2013).
His move to JioStar comes as the merged entity ramps up its push in India’s booming streaming market, where ecosystem partnerships and subscription strategies are key to capturing and retaining users. For someone who’s spent years turning alliances into revenue engines, this role at JioHotstar feels like the perfect next play pairing his partnership playbook with one of the country’s biggest digital platforms. Whether it’s striking telco deals or unlocking fintech tie-ups, Kadam’s arrival signals JioStar is gearing up to make every connection count.
