Digital
Flam sparks its growth engine with Arun Kumar Rajendran as marketing AVP
INDIA: The AI infrastructure startup has appointed Arun Kumar Rajendran as its new associate vice president of marketing, bolstering its growth ambitions with a leader known for sharp strategy, disciplined execution and a rare blend of sales-meets-marketing expertise.
In his new role, Arun will lead Flam’s performance strategy and growth programmes, strengthening the brand’s presence across India and international markets. He will also drive alignment across sales, product and analytics teams to build a unified, data-led growth engine focused on consistency and long-term impact.
Arun brings end-to-end growth experience spanning performance marketing, digital campaigns, content systems, analytics, account management, presales and sales enablement. His previous stints at Paytm, Flipkart and Razorpay saw him shape digital and performance strategies at scale.
Calling Flam’s journey a “pivotal stage of scale”, Arun said immersive marketing has become essential for brands looking to engage rather than interrupt. “Consumers expect interaction, not distraction… Flam is uniquely positioned to lead this shift,” he noted, adding that he hopes to strengthen the marketing engine with sharper execution and measurable growth.
Flam CMO and head of product Karthik K Raman, said Arun’s strategic clarity and execution-driven mindset make him an invaluable addition as the company expands into new markets and deepens its global footprint.
Founded in 2021 by Bits Pilani alumni Shourya Agarwal, Malhar Patil and Amit Gaiki, Flam builds GenAI-powered enterprise products that turn any digital or physical touchpoint, from retail to television to live events, into interactive and measurable brand experiences. The company is headquartered in San Francisco and Bengaluru.
Digital
Ethical AI must benefit society, not dominate it, says WFEB chief Sanjay Pradhan at IAA event
At Mumbai event, ethics expert urges businesses and governments to shape AI responsibly
MUMBAI: Artificial intelligence may be racing ahead at lightning speed, but its direction must still be guided by human conscience. That was the central message delivered by Sanjay Pradhan, president of the World Forum for Ethics in Business (WFEB), during the latest edition of IAA Conversations held in Mumbai.
The session was organised by the International Advertising Association (IAA) and the Artificial Intelligence Association of India (AIAI) in association with The Free Press Journal at the Free Press House on 7 March. Addressing a packed audience, Pradhan called for stronger ethical leadership to ensure AI remains a tool that benefits humanity rather than one that governs it.
“Artificial intelligence has rapidly become one of the most powerful technologies humanity has created,” Pradhan said. “It is unlocking breakthroughs in medicine, science and creativity at a pace unimaginable just a few years ago.”
But he warned that the same technology carries serious risks. AI, he noted, can amplify disinformation faster than facts can travel, compromise privacy, deepen discrimination and disrupt millions of livelihoods. Referencing concerns raised by AI pioneers such as Geoffrey Hinton, often called the godfather of AI, Pradhan stressed that the real challenge is not whether AI will shape the world, but whether humans will shape it with ethics and wisdom.
Structuring his talk around four guiding questions, why, what, how and who, Pradhan introduced the audience to WFEB’s emerging AI Ethics Partnership, a global platform aimed at advancing responsible artificial intelligence. He outlined four priority concerns that demand urgent attention: disinformation, bias and discrimination, data privacy and job security.
To make the idea of ethical AI easier to grasp, Pradhan offered a simple metaphor. Ethical AI, he said, is like a three layered cake. The outer layer represents the visible value ethical AI creates for businesses and society. The middle layer is organisational culture that moves ethics from written codes to everyday practice. The innermost layer, however, is the most crucial, the conscience of individual leaders.
Drawing from Indian philosophical thought through WFEB co-founder Ravi Shankar, Pradhan noted that while artificial intelligence can reproduce stored knowledge, true intelligence is boundless and rooted in conscience, creativity and compassion. Practices such as breathwork and meditation, he suggested, can help leaders develop the calm clarity needed for ethical decision making.
The event also featured a discussion with Maninder Adityaraj Singh, chief of staff and head of innovation at Rediffusion Brand Solutions Pvt Ltd, and Yash Johri, lawyer, Supreme Court of India.
Opening the session, IAA India chapter president Abhishek Karnani, highlighted the need for industries to understand and engage with AI responsibly.
“AI has to be befriended and understood,” added Rediffusion managing director and AIAI national convenor Sandeep Goyal. “Its ethical use will determine whether it becomes a friend or a foe.”
As AI continues to reshape industries and societies, Pradhan ended with a simple but powerful call to action. Businesses, governments and individuals must work together to ensure that the algorithms shaping the future reflect human values rather than just cold logic.
