MAM
DDB Mudra West appoints Ferzad Variyava as group CD
MUMBAI: DDB Mudra has announced the appointment of Ferzad Variyava as group creative director, DDB Mudra West. Variyava will be based out of the agency’s office in Mumbai.
DDB Mudra West creative head Rahul Mathew said, “Over the last few months, we’ve been rebuilding our creative force here at DDB Mudra West. And Ferzad is yet another stride in that direction. I have always admired his craft as a writer and am sure he’s going to raise the standard, on many counts, for all of us.”
Variyava joins DDB Mudra West from L&K Saatchi & Saatchi, where he worked as executive creative director. With over 13 years of experience, Ferzad has worked on household blue chip brands in banking, media, FMCG, beauty, personal care, travel and telecommunications. With a history of partnering new business wins, he has been mentored by industry legends in senior client and agency relationship management.
Variyava said, “I am absolutely thrilled to be working with Rahul Mathew and Sonal Dabral. I have always been a fan of work and culture of DDB Mudra and I feel privileged to be a part of this team.”
MAM
Gurpreet Singh named President of DishTV Alumni Network
Former Dish TV executive to lead community building and collaboration.
MUMBAI: Back to the dish, but this time it’s about connections, not channels Gurpreet Singh is returning to familiar territory with a new mandate that swaps subscribers for relationships. Singh has been appointed President of the DishTV Alumni Network, a move aimed at strengthening ties among former employees and building a more engaged professional community around the Dish TV ecosystem. The initiative reflects a growing trend among large organisations to formalise alumni networks as platforms for collaboration, mentorship and business opportunities.
The appointment draws on Singh’s deep-rooted history with Dish TV, where he held multiple leadership roles over nearly a decade. As National Business Head between June 2019 and September 2020, he oversaw profit and loss as well as operations, managing revenues of Rs 6,000 crore and leading a team of around 1,250 employees across the country. His tenure included working alongside two regional business heads and 16 circle heads, underscoring the scale of operations he handled.
Prior to that, Singh served as Executive Vice President and National Head for Sales and Revenue from 2016 to 2019, and earlier as Senior Vice President and National Head for Sales and Revenue. He also briefly led international operations as Country Head for Sri Lanka, further expanding his exposure across markets.
His broader career spans leadership roles across telecom and consumer businesses, including a stint as Chief Operating Officer at Bharti Airtel’s Malawi operations, senior leadership roles at Reliance Communications, and earlier positions at Hindustan Sanitaryware and Kodak India, where he spent over a decade.
In his new role, Singh is expected to focus on reconnecting former employees, fostering collaboration, and building a structured alumni ecosystem that leverages shared experience and industry networks. As companies increasingly recognise the long-term value of their extended workforce, the DishTV Alumni Network appears set to turn nostalgia into a strategic asset, one connection at a time.
