MAM
Sania Fazal joins JioStar as creative director – brand solutions
Veteran from Viacom18 to lead content partnerships across Colors, Star Plus and JioHotstar.
MUMBAI: Sania Fazal just swapped one spotlight for a bigger stage because when you’re this good at branded storytelling, the next act needs more screens. JioStar has appointed Sania Fazal as creative director for brand solutions, content partnerships & branded content, the company confirmed on 24 February 2026. In her new role based in Mumbai, Fazal will spearhead content integrations and branded narrative work across television and digital platforms targeting the Hindi-speaking market (HSM). Her mandate includes forging strategic partnerships with Colors, Star Plus and JioHotstar, building innovative ad products, creating integration ecosystems, mentoring her team, and crafting frameworks that balance cultural resonance with measurable business growth.
Fazal brings over nine years of experience from Viacom18 Media Private Limited, where she rose to senior manager for brand solutions & partnerships. There she led large-scale branded integrations and content partnerships across flagship shows including Bigg Boss, Khatron Ke Khiladi and Laughter Chefs work that earned recognition at Goafest, ET Sharks and the Indian Digital Marketing Awards.
Before Viacom18 she worked on customised brand solutions at HT Media Ltd across marquee properties, and had a brief stint at Mitkat Advisory Services. Her career has consistently focused on blending creativity with commercial impact in high-visibility entertainment formats.
The move places Fazal at the helm of JioStar’s branded content push as the merged entity sharpens its edge in television and streaming. For an industry where partnerships can make or break a show’s buzz, her appointment feels like the perfect plot twist bringing proven storytelling chops to a portfolio hungry for fresh, culturally sharp integrations. Whether it’s scripting the next viral moment or mentoring the team behind it, Fazal’s arrival signals JioStar is ready to turn every ad break into appointment viewing.
Brands
OpenAI hires Nitin Bawankule as head of enterprise sales, India
Former AWS, Google and Disney+ Hotstar leader to drive AI adoption at scale
MUMBAI: OpenAI has appointed Nitin Bawankule as head of enterprise sales for India, strengthening its leadership bench as it deepens its push into one of the world’s fastest-growing AI markets.
Bawankule, who will join in mid-May, brings more than two decades of experience across cloud, media, and digital ecosystems. Most recently, he served at Amazon Web Services, where he led multiple high-growth verticals and helped accelerate enterprise adoption of cloud and AI solutions in India.
Announcing the move, OpenAI head of enterprise sales, India Nitin Bawankule said he is looking forward to helping organisations transition from “isolated AI pilots to company-wide transformation” and embedding AI into everyday workflows to unlock productivity and better decision-making.
Before AWS, Bawankule held senior leadership roles at The Walt Disney Company, where he led ad sales for Disney+ Hotstar and television networks, driving revenue growth across major sporting and entertainment properties. He also spent over eight years at Google, including a stint as country director for Google Cloud in India.
His appointment comes at a time when Indian enterprises are rapidly scaling AI adoption, moving beyond experimentation to integrating AI into core business functions. OpenAI’s decision to bring in a seasoned enterprise leader signals its intent to capture this opportunity and build deeper partnerships across industries.
With a strong track record in navigating major technology shifts, Bawankule is expected to play a key role in translating AI’s promise into practical, business-ready solutions for Indian companies.
As the race to operationalise AI gathers pace, OpenAI’s latest hire suggests it is gearing up not just to participate, but to lead from the front in India’s enterprise AI story.
