MAM
Starcom India appoints Lalchandani as VP – buying
MUMBAI: Starcom, a part of Publicis Media India, has, in a significant development, appointed specialist Navin Lalchandani as the vice-president of its media buying operations.
Starcom, a renowned media communications agency, partners with the world’s leading marketers and new brands, including Airbnb, Bank of America, Kellogg Company, Kraft Heinz, Novartis, Samsung, Visa and more.
Lalchandani moves from Carat Media Services, Denstu Aegis Group and will steer media buying operations for all offline media, namely television, print, radio and cinema across the Starcom offices of Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore.
Starcom India Group CEO Mallikarjun Das says, “Navin is talented and versatile and comes with the rich experience of having bought media for some of the largest marketing organisations such as Mondelez, L’Oréal and Vodafone. Navin brings in an amalgamation of buying skills spanning across media and has the smarts to work in Starcom’s data-predicated media product. He will drive a buying culture that is about best-of-class in rates, rigour, fair play and trust.”
Lalchandani says, “I believe in long-term, sustained partnerships and this has certainly been the case in my career span. I began my career with media planning for Marico and it has been a greatly rewarding and exhilarating journey since then. The decision to join Starcom was easy, considering its body of good solid work, for marquee brands and its reputation of being a future-facing, high-growth agency. In an age of proliferation of channels and offerings, a sound media strategy makes all the difference to business goals. I look forward to delivering genuine value to Starcom’s clients.”
Lalchandani’s previous spans media buying firms such as GroupM’s Maxus and Madison Media.
MAM
Time brings TIME100 Next franchise to India with Reliance
List to spotlight 100 emerging leaders, gala set for December 2026 in Mumbai.
MUMBAI: It’s about time India’s next wave got a global spotlight and now, it’s on the list. New York-headquartered Time is expanding its TIME100 Next franchise to India, partnering with Reliance Industries Limited to launch TIME100 Next India, its first international extension of the rising leaders platform. The announcement was made at the Time100 Gala in New York by Jessica Sibley and Nita Mukesh Ambani, signalling a strategic push to tap into India’s growing influence across sectors.
The India edition will recognise 100 emerging leaders from the country and the global Indian diaspora, spanning business, science, sports, arts and social impact. The list will be curated by Time’s editorial team and published online, continuing the franchise’s focus on identifying individuals shaping the future.
The initiative will culminate in a gala event scheduled for December 2026 at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre, anchoring the platform within India’s cultural and business ecosystem.
TIME’s broader Time100 franchise has steadily expanded its global footprint since 2021 through events and impact-led initiatives. Executives noted that India’s growing pool of influential voices and innovators made it a natural next step for the platform’s international ambitions.
For Reliance, the partnership aligns with its broader push to support emerging talent and ideas on a global stage. For Time, it marks a timely bet on India not just as a market, but as a talent engine shaping the next chapter of global leadership.
