MAM
Richa Parekh named senior marketing director
MUMBAI: Richa Parekh’s journey at JioHotstar has reached an important new chapter as she steps into the role of senior director of marketing. Parekh joined JioHotstar in 2022 and quickly became a driving force behind its digital engine.
As digital marketing lead, she spearheaded massive international rollouts for Disney Plus, launching the platform in 18 markets across the Middle East, Israel and South Africa and helping it hit one million subscribers within the first year. Her campaigns boosted brand visibility by more than 200 percent and contributed over 60 percent of all customer acquisitions through a blend of sharp performance marketing and organic strategy.
She also built India’s first in-house performance marketing team for the company, raising operational efficiency by more than a third. With more than ten paid channels under her command including TikTok, Meta, Snapchat, DV360 and Google Ads she helped triple revenue from platforms that had been weighed down by high acquisition costs.
Before her stint in streaming, Parekh led digital marketing at Aditya Birla Health Insurance where she launched award-winning campaigns such as Jump for Health and Rakho Poora Khayaal. She drove nationwide product pushes, managed celebrity-led initiatives and shaped health awareness conversations across India. Earlier roles at iProspect, Rediff, Reload Media and Performics added to her repertoire with major brand launches including Kotak 811 and large scale SEO, performance and programmatic mandates.
Across her career, Parekh has managed teams, built processes, optimised spends and delivered consistent, channel agnostic results. From financial services to entertainment, her track record blends creativity with data backed delivery.
In her new role at JioHotstar, Parekh is expected to deepen the platform’s marketing momentum as the streaming landscape heats up. If her past is any indication, subscribers could be in for another blockbuster chapter.
Brands
Kotak Mahindra Prime names Suraj Rajappan as managing director and chief executive
The car-finance arm of Kotak Mahindra Bank lines up a new chief and raises its borrowing limit
MUMBAI: Suraj Rajappan is getting the keys. Kotak Mahindra Prime Limited (KMPL), India’s veteran car-finance outfit, has named him managing director and chief executive, effective June 1st, 2026—the same day his predecessor drives off into retirement.
The board approved the appointment at its meeting on March 18th. Rajappan, currently a whole-time director at the company, has spent his entire 24-year career at KMPL, working across functions before rising to the top job. The three-year term remains subject to shareholder approval, and the company confirmed he faces no bar from SEBI or any other authority from holding the post.
He takes over from Shahrukh Todiwala, who superannuates on May 31st after more than three decades with the Kotak Group. Ashok Vaswani, managing director and chief executive of parent Kotak Mahindra Bank, was generous in his send-off. Todiwala, he said, “leaves behind a legacy marked by prudent growth, strong risk discipline, and a focus on customer-centricity.” Of his successor, Vaswani was equally bullish: Rajappan’s “deep industry experience and execution capabilities position KMPL well for its next phase of growth.”
The board also loosened the purse strings, raising the company’s overall outstanding debt limit from Rs 43,000 crore to Rs 48,000 crore. The expanded ceiling covers bank loans, debentures, commercial paper, treasury operations, credit facilities and external commercial borrowings.
KMPL has operated as a car-finance company since 1996, branching into two-wheeler loans in 2018 and loans against property in 2021. With fresh leadership, a bigger borrowing arsenal and an ambitious lender for a parent, Rajappan’s first task is clear: step on the accelerator.
