MAM
Tech veteran Maureen Chong takes charge of Zendesk India
Mumbai: Zendesk has announced that it has expanded regional vice president Maureen Chong’s remit to include leadership of its business in South Asia, and primarily key market India. Chong currently leads the company’s go-to-market teams across markets in Asia including South East and North Asia. The new appointment takes effect immediately.
A veteran of the technology industry with over 20 years of experience, Maureen has been with Zendesk for three years since September 2021. Her industry experience includes sales leadership roles at Akamai, SAP and Oracle. Maureen has extensive experience working across markets in Asia, building and leading high-performing teams consistently growing market reach, achieving operational goals and maximising revenue.
Speaking on her new role, Chong said, “India is a vital market to our growth regionally – and globally. We have been growing with some of India’s major local brands across sectors to build on the local legacy of customer service through digital acceleration. I’m looking forward to working with Indian companies to support their growth plans, building on differentiating through exceptional customer experiences.”
Zendesk has been in India since 2016 and works with businesses across industries including finance, e-commerce, healthcare, retail and edutech. With the most complete AI solution on the CX market, the company sees massive potential for its solutions in India, a market that has typically shown openness to leading edge technology solutions. 89 per cent of industry leaders Zendesk spoke to in India believe CX will undergo a period of unprecedented change over the next three years, transforming the industry. Industry leaders in India lead the region in their optimism for the widespread use of AI, with 83 per cent believing all channels will be powered by AI in just three years signaling the market potential.
“Indian business leaders prove to be among the most progressive in their openness to new technologies and in their willingness to digitally transform their operations to harness new opportunities. I look forward to working with them to unlock those new opportunities. As one of the fastest growing markets in the world, Indian companies can make their mark globally by leading the way in how they engage customers and employees in partnership with Zendesk,” continued Chong.
Chong takes over from Vasudeva Rao Munnaluri who left Zendesk to pursue new opportunities.
Brands
Ekart expands IKEA partnership with EV deliveries in Chennai
3PL to handle 600 plus products with 48 hour delivery via EV fleet.
MUMBAI: Flatpacks are going electric and your sofa might now arrive with a smaller carbon footprint. Ekart has expanded its partnership with IKEA to power last-mile deliveries in Chennai, doubling down on speed, scale and sustainability in one of India’s key urban markets. Under the collaboration, Ekart will manage end-to-end large-format deliveries for IKEA across the city using a 100 per cent dedicated electric vehicle fleet. The move makes Chennai the second major market after NCR-Delhi where Ekart handles IKEA’s last-mile logistics, signalling a broader rollout of EV-led supply chains.
The mandate is no small load. Ekart will oversee deliveries for over 600 products from IKEA’s catalogue, ranging from furniture to home décor—categories that demand specialised handling and precision logistics.
Backed by its technology-driven fulfilment network, Ekart is targeting deliveries within a 48-hour window, offering real-time tracking and end-to-end visibility from warehouse to doorstep. The focus is clear: faster turnarounds without compromising on control or customer experience.
The EV-first model also aligns with both companies’ sustainability goals, as urban logistics increasingly shifts towards zero-emission solutions. For IKEA, which continues to expand its omnichannel presence in India, reliable and eco-conscious last-mile delivery is becoming central to scale.
For Ekart, the partnership reinforces its positioning as an enterprise-grade logistics player in large-format commerce. The company already supports over 1,800 retail, D2C and enterprise brands, spanning last-mile delivery, part-truckload services and warehousing.
As India’s logistics ecosystem evolves, this collaboration highlights a growing trend: delivery is no longer just about distance, it’s about efficiency, experience and increasingly, emissions.
