MAM
MAIA estates appoints Sanaa Ruia as creative director
Mumbai – MAIA Estates has announced the appointment of Sanaa Ruia as its new creative director. With a distinguished career spanning nearly two decades in luxury branding, design, and entrepreneurship, Sanaa brings a fresh, globally-inspired perspective to the company. Her appointment marks a pivotal moment in MAIA Estates’ journey, signalling the brand’s mission of bringing modern creativity, innovation, and excellence into real estate.
Sanaa’s educational background includes a postgraduate degree in Luxury Marketing from the London School of Arts, where she honed her expertise in high-end branding and consumer experiences. Her early career in the fashion industry laid the foundation for her refined aesthetic sensibilities and ability to push creative boundaries. A decade ago, Sanaa founded Nomada, an accessories brand that rapidly gained international recognition, with a presence in over 35 luxury stores worldwide, including markets in Miami, Athens, Lisbon, Bodrum, and Muscat.
Sanaa’s entrepreneurial journey with Nomada also extended into corporate solutions and strategic gifting, where she catered to prestigious clients such as Estée Lauder, Nykaa, Vistara Airlines, and the Manipal Group. Her commitment to ethical craftsmanship and social responsibility is best reflected in her efforts to employ 125 workers in Dharavi, emphasising fair wages and local craftsmanship.
Sanaa’s connection with MAIA Estates runs deep. Her collaboration with the brand began through Nomada, where she worked on key design projects that have shaped her understanding of MAIA’s ethos and brand identity. This familiarity, coupled with her multifaceted expertise, will enable her to spearhead creative initiatives that span marketing strategy, project branding, interior design, and landscaping.
“I have always believed that creativity is not just a skill set but a mindset,” said Sanaa Ruia, speaking about her new role. “Being a design-centric person means having a keen eye for aesthetics, functionality, and innovation in everything I do. This approach to creativity is inherently versatile, allowing me to adapt and shape it to different contexts, including real estate. I look forward to translating this ethos into my work at MAIA Estates. Real estate is an incredibly dynamic industry, and it’s exhilarating to be at the intersection of design and development. I am excited to work closely with the team at MAIA to bring a fresh perspective to our projects and create spaces that are as functional as they are beautiful.”
MAIA Estates founder & CEO Mayank Ruia commented on Sanaa’s appointment: “Sanaa’s unique design sensibilities, coupled with her strong business acumen, make her an invaluable addition to the MAIA team. Her ability to blend aesthetics with strategic thinking is exactly what we need to further distinguish ourselves. With her at the creative helm, we are poised to push the boundaries of high-quality living while staying true to our core values of innovation and excellence.”
MAM
‘You packed my parachute’: Avinash Kaul’s farewell salutes Network18’s unsung thousands
The outgoing chief’s LinkedIn post skips the boardroom tributes and goes straight to the security guards, drivers and office boys who kept the machine running
MUMBAI: Most farewell posts by senior media executives follow a familiar script: gratitude to leadership, a nod to the team, a hint of what lies ahead. Avinash Kaul’s is not that post.
Writing on LinkedIn on his last day at Network18 Media & Investments, where he spent nearly 12 years rising to chief executive, Kaul bypassed the boardroom entirely and directed his most heartfelt words at the people furthest from it: the security guard who greeted him before the building was fully awake, the fleet staff who drove him to airports at ungodly hours, the office assistants, the housekeeping teams, and the administrators who, as he put it, “held ten thousand invisible threads so the rest of us could look organised.”
“You packed my parachute,” he wrote. “Every day. Without fanfare, recognition, or ever asking for it.”
It was a striking note from a man who leaves behind a considerable operational record. Kaul joined Network18 managing three channels and exits with responsibility for 20, alongside a publishing business, a growing connected television footprint, and what he says is the highest revenue and highest channel share in the group’s history. He was quick to deflect the credit. “Not because of me. Because of 4,000 people who showed up, every day, in every department, across the country.”
To content teams across India, he issued a reminder that carries some weight given the pressures Indian news media currently faces. “Keep being custodians of trust for 700 million people. That is not a small thing. That is the whole thing.”
To colleagues in revenue and ratings who found him relentless and hard to satisfy, he was unapologetic but generous. “There was never a single moment of ill intent in my heart. Everything I pushed you towards came from one belief – that you were stronger than you knew, and I was not willing to let you settle for less than your real capability.” Those who believed him, he said, flew. Those who did not taught him to be a better communicator. He was grateful to both.
On what comes next, he offered a hint wrapped in metaphor. Something is being built, he said, prepared for “the way you pack a bag before a long climb. Not out of restlessness. Out of readiness.”
In a media landscape that rarely pauses to acknowledge the people who keep the lights on, it was, at the very least, a different kind of goodbye.
