MAM
Rathi Gangappa joins Starcom India as CEO
MUMBAI: Media agency Starcom has appointed Rathi Gangappa as chief executive officer in India. The announcement comes while the world is celebrating Women’s Day today.
Gangappa comes with a wealth of over 20 years experience in media and brand communications with rich digital and data expertise. She has navigated key leadership roles requiring a fine balance of strategy and execution in complex cross-cultural environments, driving transformation programmes, building capability and nurturing talent spanning media strategy, innovation, sponsorships, digital, mobile and social media marketing.
Rathi Gangappa says, “I am very excited to join Starcom, especially at a time when the agency has gained so much momentum. Starcom’s human experience focus connects human values with brand objectives, delivering seamlessly integrated communications. I look forward to driving business results for clients and adding to the Starcom culture of innovation and collaboration. It has a wonderful set of clients both locally and globally and a really strong backing of Publicis Media.”
Gangappa’s last role was as COO at MediaCom, where she was in charge of day to day operations and managing key client relationships across Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore. Her past stints also include Vodafone, Onmobile Global Ltd, Maxus and Lowe Lintas.
Publicis Media India CEO Anupriya Acharya adds, “We’re delighted to have Rathi join us. Her immense experience across agency, client and publisher ecosystems and demonstrated capabilities across the entire gamut of marketing and brand communications is exemplary. She shares our view on the consumer journey being ever-evolving and the challenges it poses to brands and is passionate about Starcom’s human experience approach. She will no doubt be an asset and will add value to our clients and people alike.”
MUMBAI: In India’s fast-moving payments race, Visa has just swiped in a new leader. The company has named Suresh Sethi as its India country head, marking a key leadership shift as it sharpens its focus on digital payments growth in the market. Sethi steps into the role following his recent exit from Protean eGov Technologies, where he served as chief executive officer. He succeeds Sandeep Ghosh, who has moved on after more than four years at Visa to pursue an external opportunity.
The appointment comes at a time when Visa is doubling down on its expansion strategy across India and the wider region, deepening partnerships and accelerating adoption in an increasingly competitive digital payments ecosystem.
Sethi brings with him a broad, cross-market perspective shaped by decades of experience across corporate banking, retail financial services, mobile money and large-scale government technology initiatives. He began his career at Citigroup, where he spent 14 years working across India, Africa, South America and the United States, focusing on transaction banking services within the corporate bank.
His appointment signals a blend of institutional experience and market familiarity qualities that could prove critical as Visa navigates a landscape where fintech innovation, regulatory evolution and consumer adoption are all accelerating at once.
As digital payments in India continue to scale rapidly, the leadership change underscores a simple reality, in a market where every tap, scan and swipe counts, who leads the charge can matter just as much as the technology itself.
