MAM
Ruchi Mathur named as CGO at Mindshare India
Mumbai: Mindshare, the flagship agency from GroupM on Wednesday announced the elevation of Ruchi Mathur as chief growth officer (CGO) for India, with immediate effect. She will be based out of Gurugram and report to Mindshare South Asia CEO Amin Lakhani.
Mathur, who was previously head of client leadership at Mindshare North & East, will now be responsible for expanding growth metrics for Mindshare through new business development and unlocking growth opportunities within existing businesses, said the agency in a statement.
“Along with Mindshare, she will closely work with the GroupM leadership to scale in partnerships, capability offering, and drive Mindshare’s good growth agenda,” the agency further added.
“Ruchi is a passionate leader and has a proven record of driving excellent business results within the Mindshare group, in the North and East especially. She is instrumental in boosting operational efficiency for helping our clients achieve their objectives,” commented Amin Lakhani. “With more than two decades of media expertise, Ruchi brings in a unique set of perspectives and skills that will help hone our strategic direction and grow our organisation. I am looking forward to her continued contribution within the system and am confident that with her expertise, we will continue leading towards client delight.”
Speaking on her role, Mathur said, “At Mindshare, our aim is to continuously focus on strong and sustainable ‘Good Growth,’ while creating an impact for our brands, consumers, and the society at large. I would like to thank team Mindshare for believing in me and look forward to this opportunity to continue transforming our client businesses.”
Brands
UpGrad to acquire Unacademy in share-swap deal, founders confirm
Proposed share-swap could unite two edtech rivals as sector eyes consolidation
MUMBAI: The Indian edtech sector may be inching toward another wave of consolidation, with online learning platform upGrad signing a term sheet to acquire rival Unacademy in an all stock transaction.
If completed, the deal would bring together two of the country’s most prominent education technology companies at a time when the sector is adjusting to slower demand and a sharper focus on profitability after the pandemic driven boom.
UpGrad founder and chairperson Ronnie Screwvala confirmed the development in a post on X, stating that Unacademy co-founder and chief executive Gaurav Munjal would continue to lead the company following the acquisition.
“We at upGrad have signed a term sheet to acquire Unacademy in an all stock deal, with founder and ceo Gaurav Munjal staying on to build Unacademy and focus on what it does best, creating online education products that learners love,” Screwvala wrote.
He added that the agreement includes a break fee provision if the transaction fails to close. Screwvala also said the combined entity could strengthen upGrad’s integrated learning model spanning K12 education, professional training and lifelong learning.
Unacademy confirmed that the proposed transaction will be executed through a 100 per cent share swap, with the valuation to be disclosed only after the deal closes and regulatory filings are completed.
Announcing the development on X, Munjal described the agreement as the beginning of a new chapter for both companies and the wider edtech ecosystem.
He noted that Unacademy had spent the past year reshaping its operations to focus more sharply on online education products. Among the steps taken were consolidating company operated offline centres with franchise partners and launching a Rs 50 crore employee stock ownership plan buyback, in which around 40 per cent of former employees have already participated.
Munjal also highlighted the traction gained by Airlearn, the company’s language learning product, which he said is expanding in markets including the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and Canada.
“Our cash reserves as of today are more than $100 million,” he said.
The proposed deal also marks a turnaround from earlier talks between the two companies that had stalled over disagreements on valuation and structure. Previous discussions had placed Unacademy’s valuation in the range of $300 million to $400 million, according to media reports.
If the transaction goes through, Munjal will continue as co-founder and chief executive of Unacademy, focusing on building online learning products for students in India and global markets.
For upGrad, the acquisition would broaden its footprint across the education spectrum, from school level learning to professional upskilling and lifelong education.
The move comes as India’s edtech sector enters a more sober phase after years of rapid expansion. Companies across the industry have been trimming costs, restructuring operations and seeking scale to build more sustainable businesses.
Against that backdrop, the potential combination of upGrad and Unacademy could signal that the next phase of edtech growth may be driven less by blitzscaling and more by strategic partnerships and consolidation.
