Brands
Mayank Prabhakar elevated to chief media officer at vivo India
After steering media and digital growth, Prabhakar steps into a wider role
MUMBAI: Vivo India has elevated Mayank Prabhakar to the role of chief media officer, marking a new chapter in his journey with the smartphone brand where he has spent over four years shaping its media and digital strategy.
Prabhakar, who earlier served as general manager and head of media and digital marketing, announced the development while reflecting on the opportunity to lead the brand’s storytelling and consumer engagement efforts. “Humbled and honoured to shape stories that inspire, connect and lead,” he noted while sharing the update.
Since joining vivo India in November 2021, Prabhakar has been closely involved in building the company’s media and performance marketing ecosystem, working across growth, e-commerce and direct-to-consumer initiatives. His work has centred on strengthening digital engagement while aligning media strategy with evolving consumer behaviour.
Before moving to vivo India, Prabhakar spent more than six years at Cheil Worldwide, where he held several senior roles including general manager, e-commerce marketing and deputy general manager, digital marketing. During this period, he worked on digital product launches and helped expand e-commerce partnerships with platforms such as Amazon and Flipkart.
Earlier in his career, he held leadership roles such as national vertical head at Times Internet and manager, enterprise business at One97 Communications, where he worked on enterprise mobility, mobile marketing and emerging digital campaign formats.
With nearly two decades of experience across media, digital marketing and mobile-led engagement, Prabhakar now takes on a broader mandate at vivo India as the brand continues to deepen its presence in the country’s competitive smartphone market.
Brands
Faber-Castell India appoints Sunaina Haldar as director – marketing
With stints at Tata, SleepyCat and ADF Foods under her belt, Haldar is primed to redraw Faber-Castell’s brand story
MUMBAI: Faber-Castell India has poached Sunaina Haldar from ADF Foods, appointing her director – marketing as the German stationery brand looks to muscle up in a category that is rapidly reinventing itself around creativity and self-expression.
Haldar hit the ground running. “My first couple of weeks have been incredibly energising, understanding consumers, visiting markets, engaging with retailers and immersing myself into the world of Faber-Castell Group,” she said.
She arrives with considerable firepower. At ADF Foods, Haldar ran marketing across India and international markets for a portfolio spanning Ashoka, Aeroplane, Camel and ADF Soul. Before that, she was vice-president – marketing at direct-to-consumer mattress brand SleepyCat, where she helmed brand, content and performance marketing. Her résumé also includes a stint leading marketing, new product development and CRM for Tata SmartFoodz at Tata Consumer Products, no small proving ground.
Between corporate roles, Haldar also operated as a fractional CMO for early-stage startups, building marketing strategy and operational structures from scratch, a signal that she knows how to move fast with limited resources.
With 18 years straddling FMCG, D2C and the startup world, Haldar now takes the reins at a brand that has long owned the classroom but is clearly hungry for the living room. In a stationery market where the pencil has become a lifestyle statement, Faber-Castell has picked someone who knows exactly how to sell that story.
