MAM
Prakash Wakankar joined Xynteo India as a director on its board
Mumbai: In a strategic move to reinforce its commitment to enhancing the well-being of people and facilitating planet-positive growth, Xynteo India announced the onboarding of industry veteran Prakash Wakankar as a director to its board. With an illustrious 38-year career spanning various industries and geographies, he brings a wealth of experience and enhances the diversity in leadership.
Prakash’s journey began in Pharmaceuticals with Pfizer & Hoechst (now Aventis), setting the stage for a remarkable professional voyage. Starting with Pharmaceuticals (Pfizer & Hoechst), over the past four decades, Prakash has worked in FMCG, Packaging, Hospitality, Energy, & Retail Two-wheelers and International Business, He has held leadership and board-level positions, including president, Coca-Cola Bottling (CBU) in India, director east Asia & Pacific, Essel Propack Ltd., president & CEO, Mahindra Holidays & Resorts, managing director, Perfetti van Melle, and recently as chief of international operations (FES), Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. and CEO of Mahindra Two-Wheeler Businesses. He brings extensive domestic and international understanding, spanning India, ASEAN, the Far East, Europe, and parts of Latin America and Africa.
Post his superannuation in March 2023, Prakash continues to advise the Mahindra Farm Sector.
Commenting on this significant development, Xynteo India senior partner Vipul Kumar, said, “Having Prakash Wakankar onboard marks a valuable addition to the Xynteo India family. His extensive expertise and unwavering dedication to diversity perfectly resonate with our commitment to purpose-driven initiatives. At Xynteo, we are focused on steering organisations toward addressing global societal and environmental challenges. Prakash’s strategic vision aligns seamlessly with our mission, enhancing the dynamism of our board and playing a pivotal role in propelling Xynteo India towards excellence. Together, we look forward to advancing our common objective of creating positive societal and environmental impact through purposeful transformations.”
Beyond his corporate achievements, Prakash is an accomplished sports broadcaster for the BBC, ABC, Cricket Radio, and Akashwani, showcasing his ability to balance his passion for Cricket with corporate responsibilities. He is widely recognized as a sought-after speaker and trainer across diverse genres.
Xynteo director Prakash Wakankar said, “I am excited to contribute my diverse experiences to the dynamic team at Xynteo. Aligned with the organisation’s purpose-driven approach, I am enthusiastic about collaborating with the team to foster innovation and drive planet-positive change in the industry. Together, we aim to advance Xynteo’s vision of a world where businesses thrive by addressing global societal and environmental challenges and guiding leaders through purposeful transformations that fuel sustainable growth.”
In its pioneering collaborative initiatives with global industry leaders, Xynteo is dedicated to fostering growth that benefits both the planet and human well-being. Embracing the possibilities of achieving net-zero emissions and transitioning to a circular economy, Xynteo enthusiastically develops socially inclusive solutions and reshapes stakeholder ecosystems to promote greater equity. This approach introduces a fresh perspective on how businesses are guided by Xynteo’s leadership, approach thinking, leadership, partnerships, and overall conduct.
MAM
VML India lands two finalist spots at Cairns Hatchlings 2026
The Mumbai agency is back in Australia with two teams, a UN brief and 24 hours to impress
MUMBAI: VML India is heading to Australia again. The Mumbai-based creative agency has secured two finalist spots at the Cairns Hatchlings 2026 competition, one in the Audio category and one in Design, making it the only Indian agency to have reached the finals in both editions of the contest since its launch in 2025.
Four people will make the trip. Senior copywriter Shilpi Dey and senior art director Raj Thakkar will compete in Audio. Art directors Shabbir and Shruti Negi will go head-to-head with the world’s best in Design. The finals take place at the Cairns Convention Centre from 13th May, culminating in an awards ceremony on 15th May.
The work that got them there is worth examining. For the Audio category, Dey and Thakkar tackled a brief for LIVE LIKE MMAD with a campaign called Inner Voice, Interrupted. Using spatial audio techniques, the campaign recreates the overwhelming self-doubt that descends after a long workday, physically panning negative thoughts left and right before cutting the noise entirely to reveal a confident inner voice. Strategically targeted at commuters via Spotify during evening rush hours, the campaign reframes the hours after work as an opportunity for personal growth and charitable action.
For the Design category, Shabbir and Negi worked on a brief for Canteen’s Bandanna Day, a campaign highlighting how cancer pushes teenagers out of their own defining moments. Using a pixelated design language to create stark contrast between a blurred world of isolation and a focused world of connection, the campaign, titled The Flipside of Cancer, shows teenagers fading into the background of birthdays, skateparks and school proms. As a Canteen bandanna appears, the blur flips and the teenager snaps back into sharp focus.
Kalpesh Patankar, group chief creative officer of VML India, made no attempt to disguise his satisfaction. “We are immensely proud to see our teams consistently excel on the Cairns Hatchlings platform since its inception,” he said. “They have masterfully tackled challenging briefs across diverse categories, demonstrating both layered storytelling and a unique creative approach. This exceptional teamwork is truly inspiring.”
Dey and Thakkar, returning to the finals after last year’s run, were candid about the demands of the audio medium. “It’s one of the most demanding mediums, where we only have a few seconds to capture a listener’s world with sound alone, so absolute clarity is essential,” they said. “The true measure of creative work is its ability to create positive change, and our audio submission was made to help those who need it most while encouraging people to silence the inner voices that hold them back.”
Shabbir and Negi, competing in Design for the first time, described the experience as “a completely different beast.” “We see it as an opportunity to showcase our expertise, raise the bar, and challenge ourselves in new ways, while also learning from creative minds from across the globe,” they said.
In Australia, the four finalists will face a live 24-hour brief from the United Nations before presenting in a live pitch session. Twenty-four hours, one brief, one shot. VML India has been here before. It knows exactly what is at stake.
