Brands
Marico names Ankit Porwal CEO for beauty and digital
Former L’Oréal leader to steer styling portfolio and power data-led growth
MUMBAI: Marico has brought in a seasoned beauty and e-commerce hand to sharpen its digital edge. The company has appointed Ankit Porwal as chief executive officer for beauty and styling in its digital business, tasking him with leading the portfolio while accelerating online and data-driven growth.
In his new role, Porwal will oversee Marico’s beauty and styling brands and drive the company’s push across digital commerce and omnichannel platforms. The mandate is clear: build stronger online visibility, harness data more intelligently, and turn clicks into consistent growth.
He joins from L’Oréal, where he spent more than thirteen years in a series of regional leadership roles across Asia and the Middle East. Most recently, he served as regional director and general manager for e-commerce and marketing transformation for the Sapmena region, where he focused on building large-scale digital, content and data transformation engines.
Before that, Porwal led the consumer products division as general manager for the Malaysia and Singapore cluster and earlier headed e-commerce for the South East Asia, India, Pacific, Middle East and North Africa region. His work spanned building digital infrastructure, expanding online penetration and leading cross-functional teams across sales, marketing, finance and supply chain.
His L’Oréal stint also included regional marketing leadership for Garnier across India and South East Asia, as well as senior marketing roles in Indonesia and India. Prior to L’Oréal, Porwal built his early career at Colgate-Palmolive and Wipro Consumer Care and Lighting, moving through sales and marketing roles across India and Thailand.
With this appointment, Marico is betting on deep beauty expertise and digital fluency to style its next phase of growth. For Porwal, it is a homecoming of sorts, back to the Indian consumer market, this time with a mandate to blend beauty, data and digital into a sharper growth formula.
Brands
Hyundai and TVS Motor partner to develop electric three wheelers
Joint development pact targets last mile mobility with localisation push
MUMBAI: Three wheels, one big ambition and a charge towards the future. Hyundai Motor Company and TVS Motor Company have signed a joint development agreement to co-create electric three-wheelers (E3Ws), aiming to crack India’s complex last-mile mobility puzzle. The collaboration moves beyond concept talk into execution mode, building on the E3W prototype first showcased at the Bharat Mobility Global Expo 2025. The goal now is clear, design, develop and commercialise a purpose-built vehicle tailored to Indian roads, riders and realities.
Under the agreement, Hyundai will lead design and co-development, bringing its global R&D muscle and human-centric engineering approach to the table. TVS Motor, meanwhile, will anchor the product on its electric platform, leveraging deep three-wheeler expertise and local market insight. It will also handle manufacturing and sales in India, with an eye on exports down the line.
The timing is strategic. India remains the world’s largest three-wheeler market, where affordability, durability and adaptability often outweigh sheer innovation. The upcoming E3W aims to strike that balance combining advanced technology with practical features such as adaptive ground clearance for monsoon-hit roads, improved thermal management for tropical climates, and flexible interiors suited for passengers, cargo or emergency use.
A key pillar of the partnership is localisation. Major components will be sourced and manufactured within India, a move expected to strengthen the domestic supply chain, create jobs, lower costs and improve after-sales support.
The shift from prototype to production will involve rigorous testing, certification and refinement to meet regulatory standards and consumer expectations. Dedicated cross-functional teams from both companies are already in place to accelerate timelines.
At a broader level, the tie-up reflects a growing trend in mobility, global players partnering with local specialists to navigate emerging markets. For Hyundai and TVS, the bet is that combining scale with street-level insight could unlock a new chapter in sustainable urban transport, one that runs not just on electricity, but on relevance.
