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Mandiant taps Balaji Rao as country manager to lead India operations
Mumbai: Mandiant Inc, a global player in dynamic cyber defense and response, on Monday announced the appointment of Balaji Rao as its new country manager for India and SAARC markets. In this role, Rao will be responsible for revenue generation, strategic business development and operations at the company.
An industry veteran with over 25 years of experience working with large MNCs and enterprises in leadership roles, Rao will be spearheading the team to help organisations in India gain their cyber security advantage with Mandiant’s innovative portfolio of solutions and services, said the company in a statement.
“No organisation in the world is immune to breaches. We are committed to scaling our business in India by empowering our Indian customers and partners to take decisive action, minimise risk, regardless of their size or security controls,” stated Mandiant Asia Pacific and Japan president Eric Hoh. “With Balaji joining our dynamic team, I am confident that we will sharpen our focus to enable more organisations to deploy our controls-agnostics security solutions and services while expanding our growing presence in the Indian subcontinent.”
Rao brings with him deep experience in building successful teams and a demonstrated track record of bringing business back to profitability and enabling the adoption of new technologies by customers and partners.
“There is no better time than now for organisations in India to take a proactive stance to defend against cyberattacks in this changing threat landscape,” said Balaji Rao on his new role. “Powered by unmatched intelligence and response expertise, Mandiant Advantage SaaS platform provides organisations with the tools they need to build an effective cyber security program and I look forward to helping them gain their cyber security advantage with Mandiant.”
MAM
Lego brings Messi, Ronaldo, Mbappé, Vinicius together
Campaign clocks 314 million views ahead of FIFA World Cup 2026 buzz.
MUMBAI: Four legends, one frame and not a single tackle in sight. Lego has pulled off a crossover few thought possible, uniting Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior in a single campaign ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026 only this time, they’re building dreams brick by brick.
Titled “Everyone wants a piece”, the campaign features the quartet assembling a Lego version of the World Cup trophy, before placing miniature versions of themselves atop it, a playful nod to football’s ultimate prize. Shared widely across social media, the ad carries a pointed disclaimer: it is not AI-generated, a subtle but telling signal in an era where even reality is often questioned.
The numbers tell their own story. The campaign has already crossed 314 million views on Instagram across the players’ accounts, with fans hailing it as a rare, almost nostalgic moment particularly for the reunion of Messi and Ronaldo, whose last shared campaign ahead of the 2022 World Cup became one of the platform’s most-liked posts.
Beyond the film, Lego is extending the play with exclusive, player-themed sets tied to each of the four stars, part of a broader football-led programme designed to ride the global momentum building towards 2026. The idea, as echoed by the players themselves, leans into the parallels between football and play experimentation, creativity, failure, and triumph.
Messi described the sets as a way to bring on-pitch moments into an imaginative, hands-on world, while Ronaldo called the transformation into a Lego figure a rare honour, blending sport with storytelling. Vinícius, meanwhile, struck a more personal note, recalling childhood moments of building with Lego and framing creativity as a universal language that transcends borders.
The timing is no accident. With the 2026 World Cup set to run from June 11 to July 19 across the United States, Canada and Mexico, and featuring an expanded 48-team format, global anticipation is already building. Argentina, led by Messi, will enter as defending champions, adding another layer of intrigue.
For Lego, the campaign does more than celebrate football, it taps into its mythology. Because when icons become figurines and rivalries turn into play, the beautiful game finds a new kind of pitch. one built, quite literally, by hand.
