MAM
Havas Group India onboards Pritha Dasgupta as CMO
Mumbai: Havas Group India has further reinforced its leadership team with the appointment of Pritha Dasgupta as chief marketing officer (CMO), effective immediately. She will be based in Mumbai and report to Havas Group India, group CEO, Rana Barua.
“Dasgupta will be driving the marketing and communications function of the group and all the network companies and will be working closely with the senior leadership team in India and the global marketing and communications team,” said the statement.
Welcoming Dasgupta on board, Rana Barua said, “As a group CMO, her vast experience and in-depth knowledge of the media ecosystem will prove to be invaluable to our network. She is a highly accomplished journalist and a professional with effective leadership and people skills. We are all thrilled to have her on board and look forward to a totally new way of marketing and communication in today’s times
“We have extremely ambitious plans of further expansion, acquisitions and creating a meaningful difference in the overall Indian media and advertising ecosystem,” he added.
Dasgupta is a media professional with over 15 years of work experience across marketing communications and journalism. She began her career in business journalism in 2005, following which she worked with leading publications, including Afaqs, Financial Express, CNBC-TV 18 Storyboard, Campaign India, and The Economic Times, through the next decade. In 2016, Dasgupta made the transition from journalism to corporate communications by launching the function for IPG Mediabrands India, where her most recent role was that of senior director, marketing & communications.
Commenting on her new role, Dasgupta said, “It’s hard to define the dynamic transformation the advertising and the marketing industry has gone through in the last decade, especially in the space of martech. This led to a huge transformation in the way networks built their communications strategies.”
“The industry is once again going through tectonic shifts, and Havas Group India is the only advertising network in the country that has created the role of a CMO. The visionary leadership at Havas Group India realises that only companies with the most impactful stories can own and lead this metamorphosis. That’s where I come in. I am extremely grateful to Rana and the entire team at Havas Group India for entrusting me to tell their stories,” she added.
Brands
Rapido unveils new logo as it shifts to multi-modal mobility
From bike taxis to buses, cabs and travel bookings
MUMBAI: Rapido is changing gears. The homegrown mobility platform has unveiled a new brand identity as it moves beyond its origins as a bike taxi operator to position itself as a full-stack, multi-modal mobility service.
At the heart of the refresh is a redesigned logo. The earlier bike-centric symbol has been replaced with a simplified wordmark, signalling that Rapido is no longer defined by two wheels alone. The clean new look mirrors a broader ambition: to become an everyday mobility companion for millions of Indians.
The shift reflects how far the company has travelled. Rapido now facilitates over five million rides daily across more than 400 cities. What began as a bike taxi service has expanded into auto-rickshaws and cab services, along with parcel deliveries and integrated travel bookings.
Through its in-app OTA feature, users can now book flights, hotels, buses and trains without leaving the platform. The removal of the bike icon from the logo underscores this evolution from a single-category service to a comprehensive mobility ecosystem.
Rapido works with over 30 lakh registered captains across service categories. Powered by a technology-led, SaaS-driven framework, the platform aims to offer flexible earning opportunities while strengthening its footprint in tier-2 and tier-3 cities, where it has seen significant expansion and income generation.
The new identity will be rolled out across the app, captain network, marketing channels, digital platforms and on-ground assets in the coming weeks.
Rapido chief marketing officer Pawandip Singh, said the updated visual language reinforces the company’s promise to be the “Wheels of Bharat”. He added that the brand is moving beyond its origins to deliver an integrated, homegrown solution that connects every Indian from the first mile to the last, and every getaway in between.
As Rapido trades its bike-first badge for a broader mobility mantle, the new logo marks more than a visual tweak. It signals a brand that now wants to move India in every possible way, not just on two wheels.
