MAM
Hiren Pandit bids adieu to GroupM
MUMBAI: Media veteran Hiren Pandit has decided to call it a day. The affable GroupM managing partner – special projects has put in his papers and is currently serving his notice period. His last day at the agency will be 11 July. The 53 year old Hiren‘s role was to drive efficiency and productivity in the organisation. . Apart from the various roles he has essayed, he was closely involved in Aspire, GroupM‘s training programme.
His replacement has been zoomed in on but the agency was reluctant to reveal who it was.
He joined Mindshare in 2000. In October 2006 he was made managing partner – GroupM entertainment, sports and partnerships, south Asia and was then given the responsibility of managing partner – special projects in March 2012. Before joining GroupM, he was with JWT India.
Hiren was also a member of the GroupM executive committee.
He says that WPP‘s media agency network is “a great place to work having great people to work with adding that “there comes a time when you want to go, and for me this was the time. I want to take some time off. But I do have some ideas in mind which I shall reveal in due course of time. For now, I am happy to have worked with such a great team and a completely non-political environment.”
Brands
UltraTech Cement appoints Jayant Dua as managing director
Dua will succeed K. C. Jhanwar after his term ends in December 2026
MUMBAI: UltraTech Cement, the flagship cement arm of the Aditya Birla Group, has elevated Jayant Dua as managing director, effective 1 April, 2026.
The company’s board also approved his appointment as additional director, managing director and key managerial personnel, effective 1 January, 2027, following the completion of the current managing director K C Jhanwar’s term on 31 December, 2026, according to a regulatory filing.
Dua will serve as managing director for a four-year term from 1 January, 2027 to 31 December, 2030.
A veteran executive with more than 37 years of professional experience, Dua joined the Aditya Birla Group’s cement business in 1996 and spent nearly a decade in various functional and leadership roles.
Over the past two decades, he has held several profit-and-loss and chief executive responsibilities across multiple group businesses, including insulators, insurance, Century Cement and the chlor-alkali segment. In 2023, he was elevated to lead the group’s renewables and textiles businesses.
Within the group, Dua has received several internal honours, including the chairman’s individual award for exceptional contribution in 2002, the outstanding leader award in 2009 and the leader of leaders recognition in 2022.
He holds an engineering degree from Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, an MBA from International Management Institute and has completed the advanced management programme at Harvard Business School.
