MAM
The Emvies: It’s what everyone envies
MUMBAI: Sounds of the Nasik Dhol, trumpets, and people screaming and shouting as they cheered their respective teams filled the air.
The audience comprised not suits but people dressed casually yet tastefully, wearing mostly colourful tee-shirts bearing the name of the media agency they represented.
And no, it wasn’t the wine-and-cheese affair you’d normally associate with those oh-so-snooty ad agency-types…
Rather, this year’s Emvies, organised at the Taj Lands End on Friday, 6 September, 7:00 pm onward, was more like a festival you’d suddenly found yourself in the midst of.
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The decibels kept rising and so did the energy levels of the swelling crowd.
While there were some 500 attendees, it was easy to spot the different teams; be it Mindshare, MediaComet, Madison, Ogilvy that had huddled into groups across the hall.
Not only did the extravaganza open to the beats of the dhol, till the very end, and especially, each time a winner was announced, the professional dhol players went into overdrive, accompanied by the team’s loud cheering.
The volume never dropped from the beginning till the end, what with dhols, trumpets, whistles, hooting… the works. Towards the end, it reached a crescendo when the Mindshare team took to the stage in purple tee-shirts and bandanas to receive their ‘Agency of the Year’ award.
The atmosphere was enthralling and even the well-suited Ajay Devgn, who put in a special appearance, was completely bowled over by the high spirits. “This is how an award ceremony should actually be like,” he said, adding, “In fact, looking at everyone here, I feel I am over dressed.” Shouts of Satyagraha and Singham promptly followed suit.
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The celebrations, punctuated by band/guitar performances by various media companies, continued well past midnight. There was a sumptuous spread and drinks flowed. Everyone was at their jovial best and ‘high’ in spirits.
MAM
Coca-Cola appoints Tapaswee Chandele as Global Chief People Officer
Succeeds Lisa Chang from May 1, reports to CEO Henrique Braun
MUMBAI- When leadership refreshes, culture often follows and The Coca-Cola Company is pouring a new mix into its global people strategy. The company has appointed Tapaswee Chandele as its Global Chief People Officer, marking a key transition in its human resources leadership as long-time executive Lisa Chang steps down after seven years in the role.
The appointment, effective May 1, positions Chandele at the helm of Coca-Cola’s global people agenda at a time when multinational organisations are rethinking talent, culture and leadership pipelines in an increasingly hybrid and competitive workforce landscape.
In her new role, she will report to chief executive officer Henrique Braun, signalling the strategic importance of HR within the company’s top leadership structure.
Chandele brings over two decades of institutional knowledge to the role. She currently serves as senior vice president and executive assistant to president and chief financial officer John Murphy, a position she has held since May 2025, placing her at the centre of the company’s financial and operational decision-making. Prior to this, she spent six years, from 2019 to 2025, as senior vice president of global talent, development and HR system partnerships, where she led Coca-Cola’s worldwide talent strategy and worked closely within Chang’s leadership team.
Her journey with Coca-Cola began in 2001 in India, and over the years she has built a cross-market perspective through roles spanning human resources and talent development. Her international assignments across Turkiye and South Africa, followed by a relocation to the United States in 2017, reflect a career shaped by both geographic and functional diversity, an increasingly critical trait for global leadership roles.
The transition also marks the end of Lisa Chang’s seven-year tenure, during which she played a central role in shaping Coca-Cola’s global people practices through a period defined by organisational transformation and evolving workforce expectations.
Chandele’s elevation comes at a time when HR is no longer a back-office function but a strategic driver of growth, culture and resilience. As Coca-Cola looks ahead, the focus will likely be on aligning talent strategy with business agility ensuring that the people behind the brand remain as globally adaptive as the product itself.
