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Drip Capital appoints Shweta Madhusudhan as global head, talent development & compensation
Mumbai: Digital cross-border trade finance platform Drip Capital Inc. has announced that Shweta Madhusudan has joined its leadership team as global head, talent development and compensation. The platform provides financing solutions to small and medium businesses (SMBs).
An alumnus of the Indian School of Business, Madhusudan has over 14 years of experience in human resources, consulting, and research. Her diverse portfolio, among others, includes driving equitability and competitive compensation practices. Shweta’s focus at Drip will be on building programs for people development, inclusion, leadership development, employee fast-track growth, and career progression.
Drip Capital CEO and co-founder Pushkar Mukewar commented, “As a rapidly growing company, we are looking to strengthen and scale our people development policies and programs. With her vast expertise, I am confident that Shweta will be an invaluable asset in helping Drip become the best place to work globally with practices that concentrate on making employees’ careers fulfilling and meaningful. ”
In her most recent role at GEP, Madhusudan was instrumental in leading global talent management, people analytics, and HR technology and processes.
On joining Drip Capital, Madhusudan commented, “I’m honoured to join the organisation and support its strategy to build a strong growth-oriented, inclusive, and equitable culture for all employees. The company’s culture focused on humility, ownership, and results, and its talented leadership has set Drip apart and will continue to fuel its growth story.”
MAM
Paramount set to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery in $81 billion deal
Shareholders back merger, combined entity could reshape streaming and studios.
MUMBAI: Lights, camera… consolidation, Hollywood’s latest blockbuster might be happening off-screen. Shareholders of Warner Bros. Discovery have voted in favour of selling the company to Paramount in a deal valued at $81 billion rising to nearly $111 billion including debt setting the stage for one of the biggest shake-ups in modern media. The proposed merger, still subject to regulatory approvals, would bring together a vast portfolio spanning HBO Max, CNN, and franchises such as Harry Potter under the same umbrella as Paramount’s own heavyweights, including Top Gun and CBS.
At the heart of the deal is streaming scale. Executives have indicated plans to combine HBO Max and Paramount+ into a single platform, potentially creating a stronger challenger to giants like Netflix and Amazon’s Prime Video. Current market data suggests HBO Max holds around 12 per cent of US on-demand subscriptions, compared to Paramount+’s 3 per cent, together still trailing Netflix’s 19 per cent and Disney’s combined 27 per cent via Disney+ and Hulu.
Paramount CEO David Ellison has signalled that while platforms may merge, HBO’s creative identity will remain intact, stating the brand should “stay HBO” even within a broader ecosystem.
Beyond streaming, the deal would redraw the map for film production. Combining two of Hollywood’s oldest studios Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros., the new entity aims to scale output to over 30 films annually, while maintaining a 45-day theatrical window. Warner Bros. currently commands around 21 per cent of the US box office, compared to Paramount’s 6 per cent, underscoring the strategic weight of the acquisition.
But scale comes with scrutiny. Critics warn that fewer players could mean reduced consumer choice, rising subscription costs, and potential job cuts as the combined company looks to streamline overlapping operations while managing billions in debt.
The news business, too, faces a reset. CNN would join forces at least structurally with Paramount-owned CBS, raising questions about editorial independence and positioning. The merger has already drawn political attention in the United States, particularly given perceived ties between the Ellison family and Donald Trump, though the company maintains that newsroom autonomy will be preserved.
If approved, the deal would mark another milestone in Hollywood’s consolidation wave shrinking the industry’s traditional “big six” studios to a “big four”, with Paramount joining Disney, Universal, and Sony at the top table.
In an industry built on storytelling, this merger may well become its most consequential plot twist yet.
