MAM
eBay’s Ravi Sekhar KV is MEC India’s chief digital officer, will report to MD T Gangadhar
MUMBAI: MEC India, a leading media agency, announced the appointment of Ravi Sekhar KV as Chief Digital Officer. Sekhar’s role at MEC will be to drive the agency’s end-to-end digital service. He will be based in Mumbai and will report to T Gangadhar, Managing Director, MEC South Asia.
Sekhar is an avid technologist and has been closely involved in the setting up of several start-ups. He recently founded selekt.in, an artificial-intelligence-powered product discovery engine. In his previous role, he headed digital, marketing technology and retention marketing at eBay India. During his stint at eBay, he led first-of-its-kind innovations such as eBay Daily, a tailored shopping experience offering FMCG and gourmet products and a third party affiliate cash back programme.
Speaking on the appointment, T. Gangadhar, MD, MEC South Asia said, “From my conversations with him, I find Ravi to be an exciting combination of passion, exuberance and expertise. Given his strong background, I have no doubt he will help scale our digital service even further. I am looking forward to working (and learning) from him.”
Sekhar also has a strong background in FMCG and telecom and has had stints with CavinKare and Nokia.
Ravi Sekhar KV said, “The industry is witnessing exciting growth. Both, traditional and online companies are acknowledging the impact of data and digital marketing on their business. This is a fantastic opportunity for us to build the relevant technology stacks. Given the scale at which MEC operates, I look forward to collaborating with our teams in India and across the global network”.
MAM
Three senior OpenAI infrastructure executives join Meta
Key members of Stargate project move to rival amid aggressive AI spending race.
MUMBAI: Three key architects of OpenAI’s ambitious data centre plans have switched sides and joined Meta Platforms, according to people familiar with the matter. Peter Hoeschele, who played a central role in OpenAI’s high-profile Stargate initiative, is among the new hires. He is joined by Shamez Hemani, who focused on computing strategy and business development, and Anuj Saharan, another leader in the computing organisation. The Information first reported their departure from OpenAI on Thursday.
The moves come as Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has pledged to spend aggressively on AI infrastructure. The company is projecting capital expenditure of up to $135 billion this year alone, with hundreds of billions more expected before the end of the decade to support its Meta Superintelligence Labs and new models such as Muse Spark.
OpenAI, which is pushing ahead with massive data centre expansion, had described its early lead in securing computing power as a competitive advantage. Stargate, originally announced last year as a $500 billion venture involving OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank, has since become an umbrella term for the company’s broader data centre ambitions. However, the project has seen recent adjustments, including a pause on its UK plans and the decision not to expand the Abilene, Texas site.
A spokesperson for Meta declined to comment, while Hoeschele, Hemani, and Saharan also declined to comment. OpenAI said it was grateful for the contributions of the three employees and remains focused on hiring talent for its infrastructure plans. The company recently brought in former Intel executive Sachin Katti to lead its industrial compute efforts.
In the high-stakes race to build the future of artificial intelligence, talent is proving to be as valuable as computing power itself. Meta’s latest hires suggest the competition for top infrastructure minds is intensifying, even as OpenAI continues to scale its own ambitious projects. The move highlights how quickly the AI talent war is heating up across Silicon Valley.
