MAM
Deep Ajwani appointed as udChalo CMO
Mumbai: Consumer technology company udChalo has appointed Deep Ajwani as its new chief marketing officer.
In this new role, Ajwani will oversee the planning, development and execution of the organisation’s strategic marketing programme, said the company in a statement. “His role will be instrumental in scaling the company’s growth in new and existing markets, and broadening its consumer outreach,” it added.
Ajwani previously played versatile roles in retail, martech, CRM, digital marketing and e-commerce industries.
Sharing his excitement on being part of the senior leadership, Ajwani said, “This is a challenging and unique consumer segment that our brand is working with, and I take it as a privilege to provide service to our service men. I am looking forward to developing a unique marketing direction to accelerate this momentum and further elevate the brand on a national scale.”
udChalo founder and CEO Ravi Kumar said that Ajwani is a customer champion and his vast experience will help udChalo attract and reach out to more customers. “Considering his understanding and familiarity of business and customer needs, I am assured that it will help udChalo to drive towards becoming the market influencer,” Kumar added.
Ajwani is an IIM Ahmedabad alumni known for developing and shaping several companies working as a leader, mentor and strategic advisor.
In his 20 years of career, he has been associated with various companies like Jet Airways, Nielsen, Capillary Technologies, and Big Bazaar.
MAM
Talking heads: TV9’s chief takes the host’s chair with style — but could do with a laugh
Barun Das has swapped the boardroom for the studio and is pulling off a polished interview show — mostly
MUMBAI: There is something quietly audacious about a media chief who decides that running a television empire is not quite enough and plants himself in front of the camera for a good chinwag with the great and the good. Barun Das, chief executive of TV9 Network, has done precisely that, and for the most part, he carries it off with considerable aplomb.
Duologue with Barun Das, now in its fourth season on JioHotstar, is exactly what it says on the tin: two people, two chairs, no frills. In the earlier seasons, Das has sat across from a rather stellar roster, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Aparna Sen, Viswanathan Anand, Kiran Rao, among many other renowned names. And in the fourth instalment he has had guests of the likes of Aamir Khan, Sourav Ganguly, Bianca Balti (Italian super model and cancer survivor), Lothar Matthäus (German football World Cup-winning captain). Throughout, he has coaxed from them nuggets that their publicists would probably rather keep under wraps. Cricket, relationships, spirituality, acting, health, behind-the-scenes machinations that plague politics, intellect, nepotism, nothing is entirely off the table.
Das’s greatest asset is his manner. Unhurried, well-dressed and disarmingly calm, he has the rare gift of making his guests feel so thoroughly at ease that they occasionally forget they are being filmed for television. The questions arrive softly, like a spinner tossing up a googly rather than a fast bowler hurling bouncers, and more often than not, they draw out a telling answer. He has no cue cards or teleprompter to help him along, which is probably a rarity for a host. Some credit must go to the research team operating quietly in the wings, who evidently do their homework so that Das does not have to fumble for his.
Where Duologue stumbles, however, is in its almost determined refusal to lighten up. Each 45-minute episode carries the solemn weight of a budget speech. A dash of wit, a moment of mischief, the odd belly laugh, none of it makes an appearance. Serious conversation has its place, but even the most earnest of interviewers, think David Frost at his best, knew when to let the air out of the room.
Das has built something worth watching. He simply needs to remind himself, and his guests, that a smile never hurt anyone.
Rating: 4.25 out of 5.
Available on JioHotstar.
