Brands
Nestle to fund SilverPush & IotPot pilots, ad:tech concludes
MUMBAI: ad:tech, one of the largest digital marketing event, concluded its 7th edition of Digital Marketing & Advertising Conference & Exhibition in India at Gurgaon.
ad:tech 2017 had keynotes from industry veterans and enlightening sessions for the adverting marketing community. The event witnessed a large footfall which included exhibitors, marketers, and industry leaders and an Innovation Zone with the latest disruptive technology in digital marketing.
The second day of the action packed digital marketing event saw keynote from Times Internet’s Gautam Sinha on ‘Re-inventing digital engagement’ followed by GroupM’s Rob Norman who engaged the audience with a dynamic session on ‘Facebook and Google duopoly and the challengers to that’. These introductory keynotes were followed by spotlight sessions on topics like ‘Ecommerce companies as media platforms’, ‘Vernacular on Mobile’ and others.
The second day concluded with the keynote by Bharat Anand, HBS Professor and author-The Content Trap who shared his insights on ‘Reflection of marketing in a digital age’.
SilverPush and IotPot walked away with the coveted ‘The Next Big Thing’ title along with a fully-funded pilot with Nestlé. This year ad:tech brought its global initiative ‘The Next Big Thing’ to India in partnership with Nestlé India with the aim to build a platform that brings entrepreneurs and marketing leaders together and kick start collaborations. This proves to be a great platform for start-ups to prove their mettle by showcasing their indigenous ideas in front of Nestlé and digital media professionals and thereby walking away with a fully funded project.
Comexposium India Country MD Jaswant Singh said, “The 7th edition brought together more than 100 companies from across the globe to exhibit what’s new and what’s next. Over the years ad:tech is developing as a coveted platform for the community to deliver content which is relevant in this fast changing dynamic industry.”
This year’s event witnessed phenomenal additions of companies like IBM, Accenture, Gameloft, Taboola, GSK, SAP, Yes Bank, Maruti Suzuki and Pepsico India,
Brands
Akasa Air co-founder Praveen Iyer steps down, Anand Srinivasan to lead
Airline shakes up top team as Iyer exits and leadership reshuffles take flight
MUMBAI: Akasa Air has announced that co-founder and chief commercial officer Praveen Iyer is set to resign, marking another shake-up at the fast-growing carrier. Iyer, part of the founding team that launched flights in August 2022, will work closely with the leadership team to ensure a smooth transition until 30 April 2026.
Following his departure, co-founder and chief information officer Anand Srinivasan will take over as chief commercial officer, while the airline’s IT function will now report to chief financial officer Ankur Goel.
Iyer’s exit adds to a string of senior-level departures at Akasa over the past nine months. In October 2025, co-founder and senior vice president for International Operations Neelu Khatri stepped down. Other key exits in the latter half of 2025 included Rishabh Dev, head of long-term operations, strategy, excellence and planning; Anmol Mane, vice president – aircraft acquisition and leasing; and Vineet Mishra, deputy general manager for catering.
Despite the revolving door at the top, Akasa Air continues to push ahead, navigating turbulence with new appointments and leadership reshuffles aimed at keeping the airline on a steady flight path.
