MAM
Tarun Nigam to lead VivaKi Partnerships’ operations
MUMBAI: Publicis Groupe’s VivaKi Exchange has appointed Tarun Nigam as COO for Vivaki Partnerships.He will be based in New Delhi and report directly to VivaKi Exchange CEO Mona Jain.
Vivaki Partnerships is the special unit housed under VivaKi Exchange that pursuses partnerships with local full service agencies and media agencies in Tier 2 & 3 markets across the country.
Nigam has over eighteen years of experience. The first four years were in pioneer TV production and marketing house United Television [UTV] and next eight in WPP Media [Mindshare, Maxus and MediaCom]. Most recently he was at Starcom MediaVest Group.
In his stint at WPP‘s various agencies, he worked on accounts such as Gillette, Ranbaxy, Hero Honda, LG Electronics, American Express, NIIT and Monte Carlo. Before he moved as office head for MediaCom Delhi earlier this year, he led several clients at Maxus, including the large and complex Hero Honda AOR. At Starcom, he has serviced Samsung, Aircel, Educomp and many other clients. Most recently, Tarun played a key role in streamlining SMG India’s operations by taking on the additional responsibility of National Director Business Impact.
VivaKi Exchange CEO Mona Jain said, “Our game is changing. To write the next chapter of VivaKi Partnerships, we were looking for someone who has the right mix of maturity and hunger, someone with a broad exposure to communication and marketing and who comes with a business, not just media, bias. Tarun fits the bill nicely.”
Nigam said, “I really liked the model of VivaKi partnerships and felt that the role is the right fit for me. I am looking forward to taking VivaKi partnerships to the next level”
VivaKi India country chair Srikant Sastri, said, “Over the past two years, we have achieved tremendous success in building a viable model for Tier 2&3 markets, as well as small advertisers. We are now moving from a start-up phase to a growth phase by putting a stronger organization in place.”
The partnerships that Vivaki Partnerships deals with are in the form of exclusive relationships to support the agencies on their strategic product, and provide value-added services. Additionally, VivaKi Partnerships also works with small size advertisers to help them achieve better pricing value on their media spends.
MUMBAI: In India’s fast-moving payments race, Visa has just swiped in a new leader. The company has named Suresh Sethi as its India country head, marking a key leadership shift as it sharpens its focus on digital payments growth in the market. Sethi steps into the role following his recent exit from Protean eGov Technologies, where he served as chief executive officer. He succeeds Sandeep Ghosh, who has moved on after more than four years at Visa to pursue an external opportunity.
The appointment comes at a time when Visa is doubling down on its expansion strategy across India and the wider region, deepening partnerships and accelerating adoption in an increasingly competitive digital payments ecosystem.
Sethi brings with him a broad, cross-market perspective shaped by decades of experience across corporate banking, retail financial services, mobile money and large-scale government technology initiatives. He began his career at Citigroup, where he spent 14 years working across India, Africa, South America and the United States, focusing on transaction banking services within the corporate bank.
His appointment signals a blend of institutional experience and market familiarity qualities that could prove critical as Visa navigates a landscape where fintech innovation, regulatory evolution and consumer adoption are all accelerating at once.
As digital payments in India continue to scale rapidly, the leadership change underscores a simple reality, in a market where every tap, scan and swipe counts, who leads the charge can matter just as much as the technology itself.
