MAM
Dulux rolls out ad campaign for ‘Velvet Touch’
MUMBAI: AkzoNobel, the maker of Dulux Paints, is launching a brand campaign to promote its new product, ‘Velvet Touch Pearl Glo‘.
The new ad campaign has been conceptualised and created by McCann Erickson.
Dulux, Akzo Nobel India category manager interiors- brand and digital Pushkar Jain said, “The campaign aims to build a distinct positioning for Dulux Velvet Touch Pearl Glo in the premium, super luxury paints category – as a product that catalyses success in life through the transformative power of colour.”
The campaign, which will feature across both, print and television, has Farhan Akhtar essaying the role of a man who has evolved across many genres of creativity and is looking to achieve more.
The campaign will be in English, Hindi, Tamil, Bengali and Malayalam.
In the ad film, Farhan Akhtar is portraying a Sutradhar – taking audience through stories of people having experienced a certain level of success in life.
According to the company, he derives the credibility of being a story-teller (Sutradhar) from his own story – of being a successful actor, an equally respected director and a talented singer. A man with a velvet touch, always being inspired to do more and to express his creative rhythms, the colours of his multi-faceted personality.
Three distinct human stories are narrated by Farhan – each capturing a different manifestation of renewal and transformation. In each, the power of colour is showcased in its physiological, psychological and philosophical dimensions to reflect the glow of success.
McCann Worldgroup India executive chairman, CEO and chief creative officer Prasoon Joshi said, “The creative challenge for us was to interpret the global Dulux positioning of ‘Renewal‘ in the Indian cultural environment, for which we created the communication which manifests how the glow of Velvet Touch on a person‘s walls inspires the person to keep striving, thus making the brand a catalyst for renewal in the person‘s life. Farhan Akhtar epitomizes renewal where his own journey is one of constantly reinventing himself and therefore he proved to be an ideal ambassador for the brand as well as the philosophy.”
MAM
Beacon Group appoints Dr Rajesh Patel as Group CEO
36-year healthcare veteran to lead Beacon Diagnostics, Vector Biotek, Biogeny.
MUMBAI: A new chief, a fresh diagnosis and a sharper prescription for growth. Beacon Group has appointed Dr Rajesh Patel as its Group Chief Executive Officer, effective April 1, 2026, signalling a decisive push to scale its presence in the diagnostics and IVD space. Patel steps into the role with 36 years of experience across the healthcare and diagnostics industry, bringing a career shaped by leadership roles spanning sales, marketing, business development and operational strategy. His mandate is both expansive and precise: to steer the group’s overall strategic direction while tightening coordination across its three core entities Beacon Diagnostics, Vector Biotek and Biogeny Diagnostics.
In practical terms, that means driving cross-company synergies, accelerating market expansion and strengthening organisational capability areas increasingly critical as diagnostic players compete for scale in a fragmented yet rapidly evolving healthcare ecosystem. The group is positioning itself to capture unmet demand across chain laboratories, key accounts and standalone labs, segments that remain underserved despite growing diagnostic needs.
The appointment comes at a time when the In Vitro Diagnostics (IVD) sector in India is entering a more competitive and innovation-led phase, with companies focusing not just on product pipelines but also on service delivery, integration and customer-centric models. Beacon’s leadership appears to be betting that Patel’s execution-focused approach can help translate ambition into operational momentum.
Welcoming the appointment, Chairman Dr D K Joshi described Patel’s induction as a strategic move aligned with the group’s long-term vision, emphasising the role of leadership depth in navigating the next phase of growth.
For Beacon Group, the message is clear, in a sector where precision matters, leadership is the new differentiator—and this appointment is intended to set the tone for what comes next.
