MAM
TBWAIndia ropes in Abhishek Chaturvedi to head north ops
MUMBAI: TBWAIndia has appointed Abhishek Chaturvedi as executive vice president and branch head – Gurgaon, handing him the reins of the agency’s northern command centre.
Reporting to Namrata Nandan, chief business officer, Chaturvedi will drive the creative, strategic and operational vision for the office, blending disruptive thinking with commercial muscle, and uniting people, purpose and performance under one roof.
A 20-year veteran of the creative and digital trenches, Chaturvedi has played lead roles at Digitas, McCann, Ogilvy, and most recently as SVP and head of strategy at Edelman India. He’s the brain behind memorable brand narratives, from Voltas’ Murthy to Saffola’s wellness push and Zomato’s urban bite.
Armed with a marketing degree and a background in psychology, Chaturvedi balances brand playbooks with books on inner journeys. When he’s not plotting business strategies, he’s plotting vegetables tending to his farm on Gurgaon’s edge, or hitting the highway for a thinking drive.
“We are delighted to have Abhishek join us as the Head of our North operations. He brings with him not just a sharp strategic mind and a rich background in brand building, but also a deep understanding of how to connect data-led insights with meaningful storytelling. As we look to accelerate our momentum in Gurgaon, I believe his presence will help unlock new possibilities for both our clients and our teams. Just as importantly, Abhishek’s ability to inspire people and foster a strong cultural vision will be key in shaping a high-performing, future-ready office,” said TBWA India CEO Govind Pandey.
Speaking on his new appointment, Abhishek said, “TBWA pairs worldwide disruption muscle with a start-up hunger. My early focus is simple – fuel our people with clear purpose and clear data, then let them punch above their weight for every client.”
As TBWA sharpens its edge in India’s north, Chaturvedi’s appointment signals a move to blend strategic clarity with cultural depth, true to the agency’s call to disrupt, not decorate.
MAM
Sameer Nair shares heartfelt note as he exits Applause Entertainment
After nine years building the streamer’s content engine, one of India’s best-known TV men is moving on
MUMBAI: Sameer Nair is out. The chief executive of Applause Entertainment, the content studio backed by Kumar Mangalam Birla’s media empire, has announced his departure after nearly nine years at the helm, closing the chapter on one of Indian entertainment’s more quietly consequential careers.
Nair, who built Applause from the ground up in its current avatar, oversaw a slate that spanned Indian originals and international adaptations, threading together a hub-and-spoke business model that partnered with streaming platforms, broadcasters and production houses alike. The results were uneven, as they always are in content, but the ambition was not.
In a post on LinkedIn, Nair was generous to his outgoing patron. He thanked Birla for being an “inspirational boss and a great patron of the arts,” and signed off with a cheerful “Au Revoir” and a promise to remain Applause’s biggest cheerleader. Whether that sentiment survives the next chapter remains to be seen.
No successor has been named. Applause Entertainment did not immediately comment.
Nair built the machine. Now someone else has to run it — and in a streaming market that is simultaneously consolidating and convulsing, that is no small ask.
