Brands
Elan Group appoints Mark Griffiths as COO, projects
GURUGRAM: Elan Group has brought in a seasoned hand to keep its growing portfolio firmly on track. The real estate major has appointed Mark Griffiths as chief operating officer, projects, adding global firepower to its project execution engine.
With 34 years of international experience under his hard hat, Griffiths has built and delivered some of the world’s most complex real estate and infrastructure projects across India, the Middle East, Asia and Australia. His career reads like a map of modern mega-builds, with senior leadership roles at Leighton Asia, Lodha Group, Laing O’Rourke, John Holland and most recently Albawani in Riyadh, where he oversaw key elements of Saudi Arabia’s ambitious Neom projects.
During his stint as country manager for India at Leighton Asia, Griffiths led projects worth more than USD 2 billion across the country, combining scale with discipline and steady growth. At Lodha Group, he played a key role in strengthening large residential portfolios by sharpening pre-contract processes, safety systems and quality benchmarks.
At Elan Group, Griffiths will take charge of end-to-end project delivery, with a focus on timelines, cost control, quality and operational efficiency across its expanding real estate and infrastructure developments.
Commenting on his appointment, Mark Griffiths said the group’s ambition stood out. “Elan Group’s reputation for innovation, scale and design-led development is impressive. I look forward to working with the leadership team to embed global best practices and deliver high-quality assets with consistency in a fast-changing market.”
A graduate in Construction Management from the University of Canberra, Griffiths is known for blending hands-on technical expertise with calm, strategic leadership across large, multi-stakeholder projects.
With this appointment, Elan Group signals its intent clearly. Growth will be matched with governance, and ambition with execution, brick by brick, project by project.
Brands
Aman Gupta’s OFF/BEAT secures Rs 100 crore seed funding round
Bessemer backs new venture betting on AI and India’s digital shift
MUMBAI: Aman Gupta has raised Rs 100 crore in seed funding for his new venture OFF/BEAT, with Bessemer Venture Partners leading the round as it bets on a new wave of AI-led, consumer-first businesses in India.
The funding marks an early but significant push for OFF/BEAT, which is positioned to tap into a rapidly evolving market shaped by a digitally native generation and advances in artificial intelligence. The venture aims to build at the intersection of culture and technology, where brand identity and innovation increasingly go hand in hand.
Gupta, best known for co-founding boAt and scaling it into a Rs 3,000 crore-plus business, is now looking to apply those learnings to a new playbook. His focus this time is not just on building a consumer brand, but on leveraging AI and global networks to accelerate growth.
OFF/BEAT founder Aman Gupta said, “Having built from scratch before, I know what capital can do and what it cannot. This time, I was looking for partners with a global perspective who can help me leverage technology and AI, because that is where the future lies. Bessemer’s track record with companies like Anthropic, Shopify, Canva and LinkedIn says it all.”
The choice of investor reflects that ambition. Bessemer Venture Partners has backed global technology players such as Anthropic, Shopify, Canva and LinkedIn, bringing not just capital but strategic support and global reach.
Bessemer Venture Partners partner Anant Vidur Puri said, “We back founders who see around corners. Aman saw how a new India would come to think about aspiration, identity and quality, and built boAt as proof. He is now applying that same instinct to a market being reshaped by AI and by a generation with entirely new expectations.”
The investment comes at a time when India’s startup ecosystem is being reshaped by both consumer behaviour and technological disruption. Founders are increasingly expected to understand not just products, but the cultural shifts that drive adoption.
For OFF/BEAT, the journey is just beginning, but the signal is clear. In a market where attention is fleeting and expectations are rising, building something truly distinctive may be the only way to stay on beat.
