MAM
Starcom CEO Mallikarjun Das quits
MUMBAI: After leading Starcom India through an era of strong growth and rapid transformation, Group CEO Mallikarjun Das has decided to move on from the organisation. Das had joined Starcom India as CEO in 2011.
The agency will be making an announcement shortly on new leadership for Starcom India.
“Working at Starcom over the last seven years has been a peak experience–it has left an indelible impression on me and shaped me as a professional and individual,” Das said.
In a career spanning 20 years, Das has donned several hats. Prior to Starcom, he was COO, Madison Media Infinity.
He added, “Wisdom of hindsight is a dangerous thing, but I count myself lucky to have had large, complex business challenges come my way in this stint. I have had the full support of my team, Anupriya and my previous bosses in facing up to these challenges. Our results speak for themselves – Starcom India has grown four times the last 4 years; our India operations ended 2017 as Starcom’s Global Office of the year. I wish everyone at Starcom and Publicis Media all the best for the future.”
Publicis Media India Group CEO Anupriya Acharya said, “We are going to miss Das. His tenure at Starcom has been exemplary and working with him has been a wonderful experience. Starcom has had a phenomenal journey under his leadership and he has made a tremendous contribution to giving a strong foundation to Publicis Media too. Our best wishes are with him for his next assignment.”
In a previous stint, Das has been a simulations modeler with Tata Interactive Systems where he headed the modelling practice in building simulations and games. He has worked as the Head on the P&G Planning AOR at Starcom and spent 3 years at Asian Paints as Head of Media, Market Research, Activation & PR.
Das holds a Graduate Degree in Statistics & is a Post Graduate in Management from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Bangalore.
Brands
From mega bills to spontaneous dates: Swiggy Dineout Valentine’s report
From mega bills to last-minute plans, India celebrated love with flair
MUMBAI: Valentine’s Day 2026 was a feast for the senses and wallets alike, according to Swiggy Dineout. India’s on-demand dining platform revealed how the nation celebrated romance with big gestures, lively nights out, and plenty of spontaneous bookings.
Metropolitan hubs continued to rule the roost with Bengaluru, Delhi, and Hyderabad seeing the most reservations. Emerging cities aren’t far behind, with Ahmedabad, Jaipur, and Chandigarh joining the party. Growth was particularly striking in Surat (up 180 per cent), Vadodara (155 per cent) and Bhubaneswar (145.5 per cent) compared with the previous Saturday.
Mumbai stole the headlines with a single customer splashing out Rs 130,155 – the highest bill in the country. The city also hosted the largest single group booking, with 30 diners coming together to celebrate in style. Most Valentine’s transactions took place between 10pm and 11pm, proving love, and hunger, strike late.
Mumbai stole the spotlight with a mega-spender whose bill made everyone else blush, while savvy diners were cashing in on discounts, including a Pune customer saving 60% and another in Bengaluru saving 50 per cent. Fine dining was on fire, with bookings up 121 per cent year-on-year, though pubs, bars, and lounges remained the crowd favourites, accounting for 30.6 per cent of all reservations. Last-minute romance was the order of the day, with 66 per cent of diners booking within two hours of heading out. Together, India saved over Rs 6 crore, proving that love can be grand, yet thrifty.
Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Delhi led the premium dining rush, showing a growing appetite for curated, high-end experiences. Meanwhile, spontaneous bookings reinforced modern lifestyles, where convenience and instant gratification rule the day.
Whether it was big spends, huge groups, or a last-minute romantic dash, Valentine’s Day 2026 proved love and dining go hand in hand – and sometimes, they go all out.
