MAM
Lowe Singapore hires Vinay Vinayak as global business director on Lifebuoy
MUMBAI: Lowe Singapore, part of the Mullen Lowe Group, has appointed Vinay Vinayak as global business director for Unilever’s health and hygiene skin cleansing brand, Lifebuoy.
Vinayak will assume the responsibilities of Lowe Singapore’s previous Lifebuoy lead, Virat Tandon, who was recently appointed CEO of the advertising network’s new agency Mullen Lintas, in India.
Vinayak comes to Singapore after five years with Lowe’s Lifebuoy team in Mumbai. At Singapore headquarters, he will lead and develop the brand across markets in South East Asia, South Asia, Middle East, Africa and Latin America.
He has over ten years across both agency and client-side in the advertising industry, directing brands such as HSBC, Cadbury (now Mondelez), Samsonite and BBC World. With Lowe in Mumbai, he was part of the core Lifebuoy team that among various brand initiatives also conceptualised and implemented the multi-award winning social mission programme – Help A Child Reach 5.
Lowe Asia Pacific regional president Rupen Desai said, “Lifebuoy is an amazing brand where the purpose and profit both work in perfect sync. We’re delighted that Vinay agreed to take up this challenge leading the team here in Singapore. He has a great track record with the brand, and working with the client and agency teams globally. Lifebuoy is one of our most lauded partner brands, so it was crucial that we had exactly the right fit for this senior position.”
Vinayak added, “The Lifebuoy brand is on an interesting trajectory, and is deeply committed to improving the hygiene habits of families and especially children, everywhere. Coming to Singapore means that I can not only be a strong part of the brand’s journey, but help shape it as well. Singapore also means being at the vortex of some of the newest opportunities for content – as it is a key centre for Asia, and also because it offers the ability to lead integrated work for the brand, alongside specialists like Lowe Open and Lowe Profero.”
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.
