MAM
Havas Media Singapore’s Melvin Lim is new APAC CCO; Jacqui Lim to replace him
MUMBAI: Havas Media has elevated its current CEO of Singapore Melvin Lim to the newly created role of Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) for Havas Media Group, Asia Pacific.
Jacqui Lim, the current MD of Singapore operations, will take over as the CEO of Havas
Media Group, Singapore.
In the new role, Melvin will be responsible for regional business development across all brands of Havas Media Group, including Havas Media, Arena Media and the specialist brands: Socialyse, Ecselis, Mobext and Affiperf.
In addition to the CCO role, he will continue to be the regional lead for Havas Sports & Entertainment, a concurrent role he took over in 2014.
Melvin joined Havas Media in 2011 and is credited with not only exponentially growing the Singapore operations but also transforming the agency into one of the most respected and competitive agencies in the country.
Commenting on the promotions, Havas Media Group, Asia Pacific, CEO Vishnu Mohan said, “Our Singapore operations has grown from strength to strength under Melvin’s leadership and we were keen to utilise his strong business acumen at a regional level. The role of Chief Commercial Officer is a natural fit for him given his background as a marketer, his experience with the network and his relationship with the wider global and local teams. I am confident that Melvin will be big asset to the regional team.”
“Jacqui is a natural leader and has more than proven her credentials for taking on a bigger role. She is a new business star, a talent magnet and a strategic thinker. I have no doubt that she will lead our Singapore operations to new heights of success,” added Vishnu.
Prior to joining Havas Media, Melvin was Head of Marketing for DBS Consumer Bank in Singapore where he led and managed all of DBS’ and POSB’s marketing programmes. Before this, Melvin spent four years as Deputy Director, Consumer Marketing at Singtel and
10 years with Asia Pacific Breweries, where he developed his foundation in Marketing and
Brand Management.
Jacqui joined Havas Media as Managing Director in October 2014 after having spent six years in ZenithOptimedia. In her previous role, she was Executive Director, General Manager, followed by Managing Director of the Singapore office. She was pivotal in leading and winning the Changi Airport Group pitch in 2013 as well as the Asia Pacific Breweries pitch in 2010.
Digital
Content India 2026 opens with a copro pitch, a spice evangelist and a £10,000 prize for Indian storytelling
Dish TV and C21Media’s three-day summit puts seven ambitious projects before an international jury, and two walk away with serious development money
MUMBAI: India’s content industry gathered in Mumbai this March for Content India 2026, a three-day summit organised by Dish TV in partnership with C21Media, and it wasted no time making a statement. The event opened with a Copro Pitch that put seven scripted and unscripted television concepts before an international panel of judges, and by the end of it, two projects had walked away with £10,000 each in marketing prize money from C21Media to support development and international promotion.
The jury, comprising Frank Spotnitz, Fiona Campbell, Rashmi Bajpai, Bal Samra and Rachel Glaister, evaluated a shortlist that ranged from a dark Mumbai comedy-drama about mental health (Dirty Minds, created by Sundar Aaron) to a Delhi coming-of-age mystery (Djinn Patrol, by Neha Sharma and Kilian Irwin), a techno-thriller about a teenage gaming prodigy (Kanpur X Satori, by Suchita Bhatia), an investigative crime drama blending mythology and modern thriller (The Age of Kali, by Shivani Bhatija), a documentary on India’s spice heritage (The Masala Quest, hosted by Sarina Kamini), a documentary on competitive gaming (Respawn: India’s Esports Revolution, by George Mangala Thomas and Sangram Mawari), and a reality-horror competition merging gaming and immersive fear (Scary Goose, by Samar Iqbal).
The session was hosted by Mayank Shekhar.
The two winners were Djinn Patrol, backed by Miura Kite, formerly of Participant Media and known for Chinatown and Keep Sweet: Pray & Obey, with Jaya Entertainment, producers of Real Kashmir Football Club, also attached; and The Masala Quest, created and hosted by Sarina Kamini, an Indian-Australian cook, author and self-described “spice evangelist.”
The summit also unveiled the Content India Trends Report, whose findings made for bracing reading. Daoud Jackson, senior analyst at OMDIA, set the tone: “By 2030, online video in India will nearly double the revenue of traditional TV, becoming the main driver of growth.” He noted that in 2025, India produced a quarter of all YouTube videos globally, overtaking the United States, while Indians collectively spend 117 years daily on YouTube and 72 years on Instagram. Traditional subscription TV is declining as free TV and connected TV gain ground, forcing broadcasters to innovate. “AI-generated content is just 2 per cent of engagement,” Jackson added, “highlighting the dominance of high-quality human content. The key for Indian media companies is scaling while monetising effectively from day one.”
Hannah Walsh, principal analyst at Ampere Analysis, added hard numbers to the picture. India produced over 24,000 titles in January 2026 alone, with 19,000 available internationally. The country now accounts for 12 per cent of Asia-Pacific content spend, up from 8 per cent in 2021, outpacing both Japan and China. Key exporters include JioStar, Zee Entertainment, Sony India, Amazon and Netflix, delivering over 7,500 Indian-produced titles abroad each year. The top importing markets are Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, the United States and the Philippines. Scripted content dominates globally at 88 per cent, with crime dramas and children’s and family titles performing particularly strongly.
Manoj Dobhal, chief executive and executive director of Dish TV India, framed the summit’s ambition squarely. “Stories don’t need translation. They need a platform, discovery, and reach, local or global,” he said. “India produces more movies than any country, our streaming platforms compete globally, and our tech and creators win international awards. Yet fragmentation slows growth. Producers, platforms, and tech move in different lanes. We need shared spaces, collaboration, and an ecosystem where ideas, technology, and people meet. That is why we built Content India.”
The data, the pitches and the prize money all pointed to the same conclusion: India is not waiting for the world to discover its stories. It is building the infrastructure to sell them.
