MAM
Milind Pathak joins Madhouse India as COO
MUMBAI: Madhouse, a mobile marketing and communications company, has appointed Milind Pathak as COO. He will be reporting in to Madhouse CEO Joshua Maa and GroupM Interaction south Asia managing partner Tushar Vyas and will be based in Gurgaon.
Pathak comes on board with vast domain knowledge and experience in mobile VAS, marketing & advertising, content, mobile CRM and m-Commerce.
Prior to joining Madhouse, Pathak was a part of the One97 Communications’ leadership team. He has over two decades of experience in sales, business development, marketing, strategy and P&L management. Pathak moved to digital domain in 2005 as Buongiorno co-CEO and country manager and was responsible for setting up the company’s successful operations in India. He is an active speaker at various events by IAMAI, MEF, MMA, FICCI, Music Matters, ASSOCHAM etc and has shared his experience and perspective on mobile domain, technologies and allied areas in many national & international conferences, seminars and round tables.
Maa said, “India continues to be a priority market for us and we look forward to working closely with Milind as he steers Madhouse India into its next phase of growth.”
Vyas added, “We are excited to have a senior leader from the industry in the Madhouse team. Milind comes with a rich and in depth experience from the telecom industry with depth of experience in Mobile marketing, content and commerce across consumer and enterprise segment. We are confident he will help our clients to seamlessly integrate mobile advertising into their marketing strategies.” Mobile media and advertising remains an integral part of GroupM’s New Me vision that puts digital at heart of the organisation. Madhouse India is a joint venture by WPP and Madhouse China and is managed by GroupM.”
Pathak said, “Over the last two years, I have watched Madhouse emerge as a thought leader in a dramatically changing media environment. I am excited to join and lead Madhouse. I believe we have tremendous headroom for growth in the mobile marketing and advertising domain in India. In the next 3 years the India will be a 400 million mobile internet user market and these users will spend disproportionate time on handheld devices. Our vision is to continue to invest in people, product & technology, creative domain and strategic partnerships offering cutting edge solutions to brands for all the stages of their marketing cycle- awareness, sales and engagement.
Brands
Wipro hires 7,500 freshers, withholds FY27 hiring outlook
Profit rises to Rs 3,522 crore, Rs 15,000 crore buyback announced.
MUMBAI- Hiring may be on, but visibility is off, Wipro is adding talent even as it pauses the crystal ball. The company hired 7,500 freshers in FY26 but stopped short of offering any hiring outlook for FY27, underscoring the uncertainty gripping the IT services sector as it pivots towards an AI-led operating model.
The disclosure came alongside its fourth-quarter earnings, where management flagged volatile demand conditions and refrained from committing to future workforce expansion. Chief human resources officer Saurabh Govil noted that over 3,000 of the total hires were onboarded in the March quarter alone, signalling continued intake despite a lack of clarity on deployment pipelines.
This divergence active hiring without forward guidance reflects a broader industry pattern where talent acquisition continues even as deal conversions remain uneven and client spending cycles stretch. Wipro expects its IT services revenue for the June quarter to range between a decline of 2 per cent and flat growth sequentially in constant currency terms, reinforcing near-term caution.
Chief executive officer Srini Pallia pointed to artificial intelligence as both a disruptor and an opportunity. He said evolving client priorities are pushing the company towards outcome-driven engagements, with Wipro increasingly focusing on a services-as-software model through its AI Native Business and Platforms unit. The shift marks a structural change from traditional headcount-led growth to AI-enabled delivery frameworks.
The company has already committed over $1 billion to its AI ecosystem, with investors closely watching how these investments translate into revenue. For now, the numbers present a mixed picture. Net profit rose sequentially to Rs 3,522 crore, while revenue grew 3 per cent to Rs 24,236 crore. However, core IT services performance remained under pressure, with full-year revenue declining 0.3 per cent in dollar terms and 1.6 per cent in constant currency.
Large deal bookings offered a counterpoint, rising 45.4 per cent year-on-year to $7.8 billion, highlighting a widening gap between deal wins and actual revenue realisation. On a quarterly basis, IT services revenue slipped 1.2 per cent sequentially, signalling continued softness in execution.
Margins, however, told a more optimistic story. Operating margins expanded to 17.3 per cent in the fourth quarter, up from 14.8 per cent in the previous quarter, reflecting improved cost discipline. That said, the company cautioned that upcoming wage hikes and the ramp-up of large deals could exert pressure going forward.
Attrition stood at 13.8 per cent in the March quarter, indicating stabilisation after periods of elevated churn. Alongside its earnings, Wipro also announced a Rs 15,000 crore share buyback, reinforcing its focus on shareholder returns, with a payout ratio of 88 per cent over the past three years.
Taken together, the numbers capture a company in transition investing in AI, maintaining hiring momentum, but navigating a demand environment where growth is uneven and visibility remains limited.
