MAM
Mindshare names Sam Thomas as head – performance & product
Mumbai: Mindshare India, the flagship agency from GroupM, has announced the appointment of Sam Thomas as the head of performance & product in India.
Rehan Ali as partner – performance (North and East), Atishay Agrawal as senior director – performance (South), and Pratishtha Dehariya as partner – performance (West) are the other key appointments. They will be based out of Gurgaon, Mumbai, and Bangalore, respectively, and will report to Sam.
Sam will be based out of Mumbai and will report to Mindshare South Asia digital head Gopa Menon. He will look after the performance business, productizing services and building enhanced capabilities for clients. With over 16 years of experience in digital marketing, Sam has a hands-on approach to setting practices, building teams, promoting innovation, and growing client businesses. Sam is an internal and external specialist as an expert in data-driven marketing and analytics. He will continue to have a strong focus on performance and measures effectiveness.
Rehan will bring in more efficiencies for an existing set of clients and grow the performance marketing portfolio as well as support teams to bring on board new clients in the northern and eastern markets. Atishay will help grow the existing business efficiently and grow the performance portfolio for Mindshare in the South, while Pratishtha will lead the performance business for Mindshare West.
A crucial aspect for the team will be to work with various departments within GroupM and help fill in gaps wherever necessary. They will also collaborate with teams to understand the existing business and provide performance-driven solutions for existing clients and create performance strategies for new businesses.
Mindshare South Asia CEO Amin Lakhani said, “As we observe massive acceleration of digital adoption by consumers, it is imperative for us to deliver full funnel integrated products for our clients. Strengthening our performance capability further is a step in right direction. The expertise Sam and his team bring to Mindshare will allow us to continue supporting clients with their digital capabilities and performance excellence. I am certain that this team will play a pivotal role in the brand transformation journey for our clients and will drive Mindshare’s ‘Good Growth’ proposition for them.’’
Mindshare South Asia digital head Gopa Menon said, “Performance marketing is becoming increasingly important to marketers and Sam and his team brings in-depth knowledge of how brands can revamp their digital and performance strategies. We look forward to continuing enriching digital experiences for our clients.”
Sam Thomas said, “I’m excited to join an agency like Mindshare, which has been at the forefront of performance marketing to help companies reach their business targets. Performance marketing is the backbone of brands’ transformation as digital adoption takes over. I am looking forward to contributing to Mindshare’s ‘good growth’ journey by bridging the gap between seamless digital activation and implementation for its clients.”
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.
