MAM
Mallika Nath Handa inks a new chapter with Network18 leadership move
MUMBAI: When it comes to building big brand bridges, Mallika Nath Handa knows the blueprint. The seasoned media and partnerships leader has joined Network18 Media & Investments Limited in August 2025 to helm Building Strategic Relationships, marking yet another power move in a two-decade career spanning India’s biggest media and digital houses.
Handa’s career arc is as eclectic as it is impressive. She most recently spent 1 year and 9 months at Zomato, where she headed partnerships and played a pivotal role in shaping the food-tech major’s brand-building efforts. Before that, she spent a mammoth 11 years and 8 months at Times Internet, rising to the position of head of revenue and branded content for Indiatimes Lifestyle Network.
Her early innings saw her hold senior sales roles at AIDEM Ventures (1 year 11 months), NDTV Media (4 years 3 months), and Star TV (2 years 5 months). Across these stints, she sharpened her expertise in revenue growth, branded content, digital innovation, and strategic partnerships, working at the intersection of media, technology, and brand storytelling.
An alumna of the National Institute of Fashion Technology (2000–2004) with a degree in Fashion Design and Information Technology, Handa’s journey reflects a blend of creativity and commercial acumen, a combination that’s particularly suited to navigating Network18’s expansive media ecosystem.
The move comes as Network18 continues to deepen its relationships with advertisers, creators, and platforms in an increasingly fragmented media landscape. With her proven track record in forging partnerships and scaling businesses, Handa’s entry signals the company’s intent to fortify its strategic growth playbook.
From fashion design to food-tech to forging the future of one of India’s largest media networks, Handa’s career trajectory proves she has always been in the business of connections and at Network18, she now gets to take that literally.
MAM
Generali Central Insurance launches ‘Happy Women’s Pay’ campaign
Insurer reframes Women’s Day around equal pay with real employees in focus.
MUMBAI: Generali Central Insurance just swapped bouquets for balance sheets because this Women’s Day, the real gift is a paycheck that doesn’t discriminate. Generali Central Insurance, the joint venture between global insurer Generali and Central Bank of India, has launched a bold new campaign titled ‘Happy Women’s Pay’ ahead of International Women’s Day. The initiative shifts the conversation from symbolic appreciation to systemic accountability, placing equal pay at the centre of the celebration.
The campaign film features eighteen real women employees of the organisation, using evocative slam poetry to contrast traditional Women’s Day gestures flowers, cupcakes, corporate greetings with a deeper call for equal treatment that lasts all year. It underscores that true recognition means fair pay and opportunity every day, not just on 8 March.
Generali Central Insurance chief marketing for customer & impact officer Ruchika Malhan Varma said, “For us, International Women’s Day is not about symbolic gestures but about driving change that lasts all year. With Happy Women’s Pay, we shift the focus from appreciation to accountability, placing equal pay at the heart of true celebration.”
Mullen Lintas (the agency behind the film) chief creative officer Ram Cobain added, “Words have power, and sometimes a single word-swap is all it takes to invert a day. We used slam poetry juxtaposed on real women from Generali Central Insurance to bring it alive. It’s raw and real just like a campaign on real change ought to be.”
The campaign aligns with Generali Central Insurance’s broader vision of building fair, future-focused and accountable institutions. By leading with its own workplace practices and featuring actual employees, the brand demonstrates that meaningful gender equality starts internally before it can influence society.
In a year when Women’s Day cards are plentiful but pay parity remains elusive, Generali Central Insurance isn’t just joining the conversation, it’s rewriting the greeting to say: equality isn’t a once-a-year wish, it’s a 365-day wage.
