Brands
Flipkart appoints Priyanka Roy as associate director – communications
She will lead strategic communications and brand engagement
BENGALURU: Priyanka Roy has been appointed associate director – communications at Flipkart, where she will anchor strategic communications initiatives across categories and strengthen stakeholder engagement for the company.
Based in Bengaluru, Roy brings over a decade of experience across corporate communications, brand strategy and public relations, spanning financial services, capital markets, technology and consulting.
Most recently, she served as AVP– head brand and PR at PL Capital Group, formerly known as Prabhudas Lilladher. In that role, she led brand positioning and public relations, shaping external perception for the financial services firm.
Prior to that, she spent more than four years at NSE India, where she progressed from corporate communications manager to senior manager corporate communications. She was part of the corporate communications team driving both internal and external messaging, supporting press outreach, leadership communication, employee engagement initiatives and large-scale events.
Roy earlier spent six years at Capgemini, including as global public relations manager and senior consultant – group press office. There, she led end-to-end global external communications programmes across business units such as automotive, digital engineering and next generation applications, working closely with international media and regional marketing teams across apac.
She began her career in agency roles, including as senior associate at Burson, handling media relations, executive profiling, crisis communications and content development for diverse clients.
With experience that spans stock exchanges, consulting majors and financial services firms, Roy now steps into a key communications leadership role at Flipkart, tasked with shaping conversations and sharpening the brand’s voice in India’s competitive e-commerce landscape.
Brands
Kotak Mahindra Prime names Suraj Rajappan as managing director and chief executive
The car-finance arm of Kotak Mahindra Bank lines up a new chief and raises its borrowing limit
MUMBAI: Suraj Rajappan is getting the keys. Kotak Mahindra Prime Limited (KMPL), India’s veteran car-finance outfit, has named him managing director and chief executive, effective June 1st, 2026—the same day his predecessor drives off into retirement.
The board approved the appointment at its meeting on March 18th. Rajappan, currently a whole-time director at the company, has spent his entire 24-year career at KMPL, working across functions before rising to the top job. The three-year term remains subject to shareholder approval, and the company confirmed he faces no bar from SEBI or any other authority from holding the post.
He takes over from Shahrukh Todiwala, who superannuates on May 31st after more than three decades with the Kotak Group. Ashok Vaswani, managing director and chief executive of parent Kotak Mahindra Bank, was generous in his send-off. Todiwala, he said, “leaves behind a legacy marked by prudent growth, strong risk discipline, and a focus on customer-centricity.” Of his successor, Vaswani was equally bullish: Rajappan’s “deep industry experience and execution capabilities position KMPL well for its next phase of growth.”
The board also loosened the purse strings, raising the company’s overall outstanding debt limit from Rs 43,000 crore to Rs 48,000 crore. The expanded ceiling covers bank loans, debentures, commercial paper, treasury operations, credit facilities and external commercial borrowings.
KMPL has operated as a car-finance company since 1996, branching into two-wheeler loans in 2018 and loans against property in 2021. With fresh leadership, a bigger borrowing arsenal and an ambitious lender for a parent, Rajappan’s first task is clear: step on the accelerator.
