MAM
Publicis Groupe South Asia elevates Lalatendu Das to CEO, Publicis Media South Asia
Publicis Groupe South Asia announced today that it has elevated Lalatendu Das (LD), the current CEO of Performics India, to the newly created role of CEO of Publicis Media South Asia. Continuing to report to Publicis Groupe South Asia CEO Anupriya Acharya, LD will work closely with Zenith India CEO Jai Lala; Starcom India CEO Rathi Gangappa; PMX India MD Sejal Shah and other media leaders.
LD joined Publicis Groupe India in early 2022 as CEO of Performics India and in these three years he has further added marquee accounts, incubated innovative products and pivoted Performics India to top place in performance marketing and end-to-end digital solutions. Before joining Publicis Groupe South Asia, LD spent nearly a decade at McKinsey as a Partner and founding member of McKinsey Digital Labs in Asia Pacific. He co-led the McKinsey Digital/Technology practice, focusing on new digital business builds, customer journey transformations, and advanced analytics-led transformations. LD has also held major operational roles at Tata Consultancy Services for over a decade. An engineer and Postgraduate in Business Management from IIM Ahmedabad, LD has 25 years of experience.
Anupriya Acharya said, “LD is a remarkable leader with established credentials. He has led Performics India to great heights in the past three years. His extensive background in consulting, digital-led transformation, and large-scale operations across India and global markets made him uniquely qualified to drive significant value for our media clients. We are really excited to have him take on this new mandate.”
Lalatendu Das said, “I am delighted to be leading Publicis Media South Asia at an exciting, pivotal, and transformative time. It has scaled capabilities across strategy, insights and analytics, data and technology, and a strong and established portfolio of brands in its client roster. I look forward to keeping the growth momentum going, delivering industry-first offerings and tangible, exponential growth for clients. The canvas is vast, and the opportunities are huge.”
In a separate development, Publicis Media Services South Asia CEO Tanmay Mohanty is moving on to pursue new opportunities. He was overseeing the media operations of Zenith India and Starcom India in addition to the Media Product & Solutions Portfolio.
Anupriya Acharya said, “I would like to thank Tanmay for his contributions which have been invaluable. During his tenure with us, our media services and capabilities have not only scaled up tremendously with some of our biggest clients, but they have become the best offerings in the market. We wish him the very best in his future endeavours.”
Brands
Eternal pumps Rs 450 crore into Blinkit as quick commerce race heats up
Fresh funds fuel Blinkit’s expansion as rivals Zepto and Instamart scale up
MUMBAI: Eternal has infused Rs 450 crore, into its quick commerce subsidiary Blinkit, marking its first capital injection into the company in 2026. The funding comes as competition in India’s fast-growing quick commerce market continues to intensify.
According to media reports, the capital infusion was approved by the board through a rights issue, with 2,799 equity shares allotted at an issue price of Rs 16,07,161 per share. The funds are expected to support Blinkit’s expansion, operational expenses and working capital needs as it scales operations across more cities.
The latest investment follows significant funding support from Eternal in 2025. The company invested Rs 500 crore in January, Rs 1,500 crore in February and Rs 600 crore in November, taking the total infusion last year to Rs 2,600 crore. The continued funding highlights Eternal’s focus on strengthening its quick commerce business.
Blinkit’s operations have grown rapidly alongside these investments. In the December quarter of FY25, the company reported revenue of Rs 1,399 crore, up from Rs 644 crore in the same period a year earlier. Gross order value also rose to Rs 7,798 crore during the quarter, reflecting strong demand for rapid delivery services.
However, profitability remains under pressure as the company continues to expand. Blinkit reported an adjusted ebitda loss of Rs 103 crore in the quarter, compared with a loss of Rs 8 crore in the previous quarter.
The funding comes at a time when competition in the quick commerce segment is increasing. Rival startup Zepto raised $450 million in October last year, while Swiggy raised around Rs 10,000 crore in December to strengthen investments in its quick commerce arm Instamart.
Earlier this year, Blinkit CEO Albinder Dhindsa was elevated to group CEO of Eternal, succeeding Deepinder Goyal, reflecting the growing strategic importance of the quick commerce business within the company.
