MAM
Stellantis announces new brand heads for Citroën & Jeep in India
Mumbai: After the announcement of Roland Bouchara as CEO & managing director for Stellantis in India earlier in April, the automaker giant on Thursday announced key leadership appointments for its operations in India. Saurabh Vatsa and Nipun J Mahajan will now be responsible for its Citroën brand and Jeep Brand in India, respectively.
Vatsa and Mahajan will report directly to Roland Bouchara and the newly integrated organisation structure is already effective from 7 June, said the company in a statement.
Vatsa who is an industry veteran with over 25 years of experience, had joined PSA in 2018 as senior director – marketing & corporate communications. He has been instrumental in devising and implementing the unique strategy for the launch of Citroën brand and C5 Aircross SUV in India. In his new role, Vatsa will be responsible for sales, marketing, aftersales, product planning & PR functions for Citroën in India.
For the Jeep brand, Mahajan will be responsible for sales, marketing, aftersales, product planning & PR functions in India. He has over 25 years of experience in the automotive industry and has been with the Jeep brand for five years in the position of vice president, sales operations, and network development. Mahajan has been instrumental in launching the Jeep brand in India and achieving the 50,000 sales milestone for the Jeep Compass.
“I am pleased to welcome Saurabh and Nipun to our India leadership team. These appointments are a continuation of the seamless integration process that has been well underway since Stellantis was born,” said Bouchara. “Both Saurabh and Nipun bring to their position a series of stellar achievements and rich industry experience from which our customers, partners, and the group as a whole will benefit greatly.”
MAM
VML India lands two finalist spots at Cairns Hatchlings 2026
The Mumbai agency is back in Australia with two teams, a UN brief and 24 hours to impress
MUMBAI: VML India is heading to Australia again. The Mumbai-based creative agency has secured two finalist spots at the Cairns Hatchlings 2026 competition, one in the Audio category and one in Design, making it the only Indian agency to have reached the finals in both editions of the contest since its launch in 2025.
Four people will make the trip. Senior copywriter Shilpi Dey and senior art director Raj Thakkar will compete in Audio. Art directors Shabbir and Shruti Negi will go head-to-head with the world’s best in Design. The finals take place at the Cairns Convention Centre from 13th May, culminating in an awards ceremony on 15th May.
The work that got them there is worth examining. For the Audio category, Dey and Thakkar tackled a brief for LIVE LIKE MMAD with a campaign called Inner Voice, Interrupted. Using spatial audio techniques, the campaign recreates the overwhelming self-doubt that descends after a long workday, physically panning negative thoughts left and right before cutting the noise entirely to reveal a confident inner voice. Strategically targeted at commuters via Spotify during evening rush hours, the campaign reframes the hours after work as an opportunity for personal growth and charitable action.
For the Design category, Shabbir and Negi worked on a brief for Canteen’s Bandanna Day, a campaign highlighting how cancer pushes teenagers out of their own defining moments. Using a pixelated design language to create stark contrast between a blurred world of isolation and a focused world of connection, the campaign, titled The Flipside of Cancer, shows teenagers fading into the background of birthdays, skateparks and school proms. As a Canteen bandanna appears, the blur flips and the teenager snaps back into sharp focus.
Kalpesh Patankar, group chief creative officer of VML India, made no attempt to disguise his satisfaction. “We are immensely proud to see our teams consistently excel on the Cairns Hatchlings platform since its inception,” he said. “They have masterfully tackled challenging briefs across diverse categories, demonstrating both layered storytelling and a unique creative approach. This exceptional teamwork is truly inspiring.”
Dey and Thakkar, returning to the finals after last year’s run, were candid about the demands of the audio medium. “It’s one of the most demanding mediums, where we only have a few seconds to capture a listener’s world with sound alone, so absolute clarity is essential,” they said. “The true measure of creative work is its ability to create positive change, and our audio submission was made to help those who need it most while encouraging people to silence the inner voices that hold them back.”
Shabbir and Negi, competing in Design for the first time, described the experience as “a completely different beast.” “We see it as an opportunity to showcase our expertise, raise the bar, and challenge ourselves in new ways, while also learning from creative minds from across the globe,” they said.
In Australia, the four finalists will face a live 24-hour brief from the United Nations before presenting in a live pitch session. Twenty-four hours, one brief, one shot. VML India has been here before. It knows exactly what is at stake.
