MAM
Grasim Industries consolidates cement business with Starcom
MUMBAI: Grasim Industries has consolidated its cement business with Starcom. While, last year the agency was mandated with the media planning and buying for UltraTec Cement; it has now bagged the account for Birla Plus and Birla Super cements.
According to industry estimates, the Birla Plus and Birla Super cement accounts are collectively worth Rs 130 million.
Grasim Industries India cement business marketing head Shashank Awasthi says, “We have been associated with Starcom for the last one year on the UltraTec account and they brought great value for the brand in both planning and buying. Keeping this in mind, we decided to consolidate our entire cement business with them.”
Commenting on the new account, Starcom India general manager investment and new initiatives Manish Porwal says, “The client was very happy with our strategic planning and buying on UltraTec Cement last year, which was quite critical to its launch. This was the reason why they decided to consolidate their entire cement business to us.”
MUMBAI: In India’s fast-moving payments race, Visa has just swiped in a new leader. The company has named Suresh Sethi as its India country head, marking a key leadership shift as it sharpens its focus on digital payments growth in the market. Sethi steps into the role following his recent exit from Protean eGov Technologies, where he served as chief executive officer. He succeeds Sandeep Ghosh, who has moved on after more than four years at Visa to pursue an external opportunity.
The appointment comes at a time when Visa is doubling down on its expansion strategy across India and the wider region, deepening partnerships and accelerating adoption in an increasingly competitive digital payments ecosystem.
Sethi brings with him a broad, cross-market perspective shaped by decades of experience across corporate banking, retail financial services, mobile money and large-scale government technology initiatives. He began his career at Citigroup, where he spent 14 years working across India, Africa, South America and the United States, focusing on transaction banking services within the corporate bank.
His appointment signals a blend of institutional experience and market familiarity qualities that could prove critical as Visa navigates a landscape where fintech innovation, regulatory evolution and consumer adoption are all accelerating at once.
As digital payments in India continue to scale rapidly, the leadership change underscores a simple reality, in a market where every tap, scan and swipe counts, who leads the charge can matter just as much as the technology itself.
