Digital
Godrej Group’s Pankaj Singh Parihar joins Condé Nast India as chief business officer
MUMBAI: Condé Nast India announced on Thursday the appointment of former Godrej Group VP & head of digital Pankaj Singh Parihar as the chief business officer. In his new role, Parihar will be responsible to lead the commercial teams in defining and delivering on advertising revenue targets, while shaping the company’s sales and marketing strategy & business growth. He will play an integral role in the delivery of all commercial revenue including digital and print sales, branded content, social, video and events for the company. Parihar will report directly to Condé Nast India’s managing director Alex Kuruvilla.
On the appointment, Condé Nast India managing director Alex Kuruvilla said, “2021 was the year when Digital + Video became the largest commercial platform for Condé Nast India. The future growth will continue to be driven by these platforms along with our events business, which is beginning to make a comeback. I am excited to have Pankaj on board with us as his experience in driving large scale digital transformation for businesses across industries will be significant as Condé Nast aims to strategically partner and provide our digital audience and data (1P) and content (IP) capabilities.”
On his new role, Pankaj Singh Parihar said, “Condé Nast has recently been through a global transformation and it’s an exciting time to be part of the company. The premium brands of Condé Nast India have always been a source of inspiration to me and I am eagerly looking forward to working with Alex Kuruvilla and leading the commercial teams at Condé Nast India towards the next phase of growth, business transformation and digitisation of the organisation.”
Parihar parted ways with the Godrej Group after serving over 8 years in the company. He was a part of the leadership team at Godrej Consumer Products. He was leading the digital center of excellence-digital marketing, digital commerce, and digital transformation at GCPL. He was also in charge of monitoring the entire cycle of consumer journeys on digital and digital marketing for all GCPL brands.
Parihar joined the multinational conglomerate in 2014 as associate vice president and head of digital transformation. His responsibilities at the organisation included driving and operating the D2C channel, overlooking the digital & growth marketing, creating a seamless data stack and driving actionable insights for the company.
He had also worked for behemoth brands such as Ogilvy, Omnicom Media Group and The Times Group.
Digital
India leads global adoption of ChatGPT Images 2.0 in first week
From anime avatars to fantasy covers, users turn AI visuals into culture
NEW DELHI: India has emerged as the largest user base for ChatGPT Images 2.0, just a week after its launch by OpenAI, underlining the country’s growing influence on global internet trends.
While the tool was introduced as an advanced image-generation upgrade within ChatGPT, Indian users are quickly reshaping its purpose. Instead of sticking to productivity-led use cases, many are embracing it as a creative playground for self-expression, storytelling and online identity.
From anime-style portraits and cinematic headshots to tarot-inspired visuals and fictional newspaper front pages, the model is being used to create highly stylised, shareable content. Features such as accurate text rendering, multilingual prompts and the ability to generate detailed visuals with minimal input have helped drive rapid adoption.
What sets the latest model apart is its ability to “think” through prompts, generating multiple outputs and adapting to context, including real-time web inputs. But the bigger story lies in how users are engaging with it.
In India, trends are already taking shape. Popular formats include dramatic studio-style lighting edits, LinkedIn-ready headshots, manga-inspired avatars, soft pastel “spring” aesthetics, AI-led fashion moodboards, paparazzi-style visuals and fantasy newspaper covers. Users are also restoring old photographs, creating tarot-style imagery and experimenting with futuristic design concepts.
Local flavour is adding another layer. Prompts such as cinematic portrait collages and Y2K-inspired romantic edits are gaining traction, blending global aesthetics with distinctly Indian internet culture.
The surge reflects a broader shift in how AI tools are being used in the country, moving beyond utility to creativity. As younger users, creators and social media enthusiasts experiment with new visual formats, AI-generated imagery is increasingly becoming part of everyday digital expression.
If early trends hold, ChatGPT Images 2.0 may not just be a tech upgrade but a cultural moment, giving millions a new visual language to play with online.
