MAM
Jupiter ropes in Swiggy’s Anuj Rathi as chief product and marketing officer
Mumbai: Jupiter, the digital platform for everything money has roped in Anuj Rathi, ex-senior vice president of revenue and growth at Swiggy, as its first-ever chief product and marketing officer where he will lead product, design, growth and marketing. He will work closely with founder and CEO Jitendra Gupta in accelerating Jupiter’s mission to make financial wellness for millions of Indians easy and delightful.
With more than 18 years of experience, the IIT-Kanpur alumnus brings rich experience and insights from his stints at marquee Indian e-commerce startups including Swiggy, Flipkart and also major corporations like Walmart. In his last stint at Swiggy where he was one of the most senior leaders, Rathi had led product, marketing, growth, financial services, partnerships and was instrumental in launching industry-first offerings like Swiggy One , Instamart & Gourmet, among many others. At Jupiter Money, he will play a key leadership role to redefine the personal finance experience for Indian consumers.
In a statement, Jupiter founder and CEO Jitendra Gupta said, “On behalf of team Jupiter, I would like to extend our warmest welcome to Anuj. Having someone of Anuj’s pedigree, experience and track record will be an invaluable asset to Jupiter as we continue to double down on our mission of enabling financial wellness for millions of Indians. We felt that Anuj is the most suited leader to play an important role for Jupiter’s next phase of growth. I am personally very excited to welcome him to Jupiter Money.
Speaking about his new role, Rathi said, “India is now expecting delightful customer experiences in many spheres of their lives including their personal finance experience. I resonated deeply with Jupiter’s mission to make financial wellness for millions of Indians easy and delightful. I’m looking forward to working with Jiten and the team at Jupiter to improve our customers’ relationship with money and financial aspirations.”
MAM
VML India lands two finalist spots at Cairns Hatchlings 2026
The Mumbai agency is back in Australia with two teams, a UN brief and 24 hours to impress
MUMBAI: VML India is heading to Australia again. The Mumbai-based creative agency has secured two finalist spots at the Cairns Hatchlings 2026 competition, one in the Audio category and one in Design, making it the only Indian agency to have reached the finals in both editions of the contest since its launch in 2025.
Four people will make the trip. Senior copywriter Shilpi Dey and senior art director Raj Thakkar will compete in Audio. Art directors Shabbir and Shruti Negi will go head-to-head with the world’s best in Design. The finals take place at the Cairns Convention Centre from 13th May, culminating in an awards ceremony on 15th May.
The work that got them there is worth examining. For the Audio category, Dey and Thakkar tackled a brief for LIVE LIKE MMAD with a campaign called Inner Voice, Interrupted. Using spatial audio techniques, the campaign recreates the overwhelming self-doubt that descends after a long workday, physically panning negative thoughts left and right before cutting the noise entirely to reveal a confident inner voice. Strategically targeted at commuters via Spotify during evening rush hours, the campaign reframes the hours after work as an opportunity for personal growth and charitable action.
For the Design category, Shabbir and Negi worked on a brief for Canteen’s Bandanna Day, a campaign highlighting how cancer pushes teenagers out of their own defining moments. Using a pixelated design language to create stark contrast between a blurred world of isolation and a focused world of connection, the campaign, titled The Flipside of Cancer, shows teenagers fading into the background of birthdays, skateparks and school proms. As a Canteen bandanna appears, the blur flips and the teenager snaps back into sharp focus.
Kalpesh Patankar, group chief creative officer of VML India, made no attempt to disguise his satisfaction. “We are immensely proud to see our teams consistently excel on the Cairns Hatchlings platform since its inception,” he said. “They have masterfully tackled challenging briefs across diverse categories, demonstrating both layered storytelling and a unique creative approach. This exceptional teamwork is truly inspiring.”
Dey and Thakkar, returning to the finals after last year’s run, were candid about the demands of the audio medium. “It’s one of the most demanding mediums, where we only have a few seconds to capture a listener’s world with sound alone, so absolute clarity is essential,” they said. “The true measure of creative work is its ability to create positive change, and our audio submission was made to help those who need it most while encouraging people to silence the inner voices that hold them back.”
Shabbir and Negi, competing in Design for the first time, described the experience as “a completely different beast.” “We see it as an opportunity to showcase our expertise, raise the bar, and challenge ourselves in new ways, while also learning from creative minds from across the globe,” they said.
In Australia, the four finalists will face a live 24-hour brief from the United Nations before presenting in a live pitch session. Twenty-four hours, one brief, one shot. VML India has been here before. It knows exactly what is at stake.
