MAM
Niti Kumar takes the reins at Spark Foundry India
GURUGRAM: Niti Kumar has been named chief executive officer of Spark Foundry India, marking a significant coup for Publicis Groupe as it seeks to sharpen its edge in one of the world’s fastest-growing advertising markets.
Kumar joins from Starcom, where she spent four and a half years as chief operations officer, building integrated teams and steering business development. Her appointment comes as media agencies battle for supremacy in India, where digital advertising spending is surging and brands are demanding increasingly sophisticated strategies.
A self-described “born and brought up media planner,” Kumar brings more than two decades of experience spanning traditional and digital marketing, corporate communications, and social media. She has worked with heavyweight clients including Mars, Subway, Shell, Dabur, Reckitt and Amway, crafting media strategies that blend data with creative storytelling.
Her career trajectory reads like a tour of India’s media landscape. Before Starcom, she spent two years as senior vice president of marketing, digital and communications at Penguin Random House India. She also logged nearly six years at MediaCom, rising to managing partner before her departure in 2018, and spent nearly eight years at Mudra Communications, where she headed the Delhi and Kolkata offices as associate vice president.
Kumar is also a TEDx speaker and has positioned herself as a mentor for young women building careers in advertising—a sector still grappling with gender imbalance at senior levels.
Spark Foundry, part of Publicis Groupe’s Publicis Media division, competes with the likes of GroupM’s Mindshare and Wavemaker, Omnicom’s PHD and OMD, and IPG’s UM. Kumar’s appointment suggests Publicis is betting on experienced hands to navigate an increasingly fragmented media ecosystem.
When she’s not plotting media buys, Kumar can be found under a blanket with coffee and the latest fiction read. But with India’s advertising market heating up, those quiet moments may be in short supply.
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.
