MAM
Mayoori Kango returns to Publicis to script an AI-powered new chapter
MUMBAI: From Bollywood spotlight to boardroom strategy, Mayoori Kango has never shied away from reinvention. The digital veteran has now rejoined Publicis Groupe as part of the global executive leadership team at Publicis Global Delivery (PGD), while also stepping in as CEO for PGD’s India Delivery Centre. The move marks a homecoming for Kango, who has already left her imprint on Publicis through earlier leadership roles at Performics (2016–2019) and Zenith (2012–2016). This time, her remit is bigger: driving global strategy across media, data-tech, and AI, and scaling PGD’s India operations into a hub of innovation.
Kango arrives at Publicis fresh from Google, where she spent six and a half years. Most recently, she served as Industry head for AI, Martech & Media Solutions (Aug 2024–Aug 2025), and before that as head of industry for agency partnership (2019–2024). Her time at the tech giant placed her at the forefront of AI’s impact on marketing and media, a focus she is set to double down on at Publicis.
Her career trajectory reads like a map of the digital advertising revolution: from 360i (2007–2009), where she worked on campaigns for Natgeo and Red Roof Inn, to Resolution Media (2009–2010), leading SEM for Pepsi, Monster, and Electrolux, to Digitas (2010–2012), running the Delta Search business. By the time she took the reins as chief digital officer at Zenith India, she was already recognised as one of the leading voices in digital transformation.
Armed with an MBA in Marketing from Zicklin School of Business, Baruch College (2005–2007), Kango has built a rare global career that blends Silicon Valley tech with Madison Avenue storytelling and Indian market scale.
Her dual role at Publicis is as much about the future as it is about continuity. As AI reshapes workflows, creativity, and consumer engagement, Kango will lead PGD’s efforts to position Publicis as the go-to partner for next-gen marketing solutions with India at its core.
For an industry that thrives on reinvention, Kango’s return feels fitting. After all, who better to script a new chapter in AI-led marketing than someone who has lived through every act of digital’s ongoing drama?
MAM
Fringe festival finally hits Mumbai stage in March
60 plus shows from 10–15 March 2026 at NCPA plus Bandra venues.
MUMBAI: The Fringe is no longer on the fringe, it’s centre stage in Mumbai, ready to turn the city into a creative playground. After nearly 80 years of shaking up global performance culture from Edinburgh to Prague and Adelaide, the world’s largest open-access arts movement makes its India debut with the Mumbai Fringe Festival from 10 to 15 March 2026.
Kicking off at the iconic Tata Theatre, NCPA, the six-day celebration will spill across Bandra’s buzzing creative circuit, Khar Comedy Club, 3 Art House and indifferent @ Gharonda delivering nearly 60 performances in comedy, theatre, poetry, storytelling and experimental work. This isn’t a sit-down spectacle; it’s a city on the move, with audiences hopping between venues to catch new voices and bold ideas in their rawest form.
The lineup mixes homegrown stars with international heavyweights. Rohan Joshi, Kanan Gill, Varun Grover, Aakash Gupta, Priya Malik, Amandeep Khayal, Urooj Ashfaq and Amit Tandon bring the Indian edge, while global gems include Nigel Miles Thomas’s award-winning solo Sherlock Holmes: The Last Act, The Shakespeare Edit’s striking Macbeth adaptation and David Hoskin’s genre-blending Haunted House (mime, comedy, storytelling mash-up). True to Fringe spirit, the programme thrives on intimacy, invention and fearless creative risks.
Tickets are already live on Bookmyshow, with several shows sold out, signalling strong early buzz. Co-founders Steve Gove (of the 25-year-old Prague Fringe) and Simar Singh (UnErase Poetry) are steering the ship, united by the belief that Mumbai and India is primed for the Fringe model.
Steve Gove said, “Bringing Fringe to Mumbai has been a long-held dream. Cities around the world have embraced this model and watched it reshape their creative landscapes. Mumbai has the energy, the appetite and the talent to make this extraordinary.”
Simar Singh added, “The Fringe model gives artists complete freedom. It creates space for new voices and unexpected ideas to meet audiences directly. Mumbai deserves a platform like this.”
Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society chief executive Tony Lankester chimed in, “Born in Scotland nearly 80 years ago, the Fringe has always stood for joy, openness and giving everyone a platform with minimal gatekeeping… We are delighted to see the Mumbai Fringe carry this same spirit forward.”
In a country bursting with artistic tradition, the Fringe’s arrival feels both overdue and electric, a chance for audiences to experience unfiltered, up-close performance that has quietly shaped modern theatre worldwide. Grab tickets on Bookmyshow before the best spots vanish. Mumbai’s creative margins just got a whole lot louder.
