MAM
ESS promotes Himanshu Verma to director marketing communications
MUMBAI: ESPN Star Sports (ESS) Asia has announced that it has promoted Himanshu Verma to director, marketing communications.
Recently relocated from New Delhi, Verma is now based in Singapore and reports directly to ESS marketing communications VP Stephenie Vasko.
Prior to the promotion Verma he was ESPN India director, corporate communications and event management group. He was responsible for the overall brand development, conceptualising and implementing large sports events such as the Premier Hockey League and devising communications strategies for the network. ESS is currently looking for someone to replace Verma in India.
Verma started his career in sales with The Times of India handling dealers, merchandising, vendor management and door-to-door selling. His foray into communications came when he joined Indian Public Affairs Network (Ipan) servicing high-profile accounts such as the BT, Alcatel, Microsoft and Rolls Royce.
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.
