MAM
Titus Upputuru and Ayesha Ghosh exit Taproot dentsu
Mumbai: Taproot dentsu’s national creative director Titus Upputuru and chief executive officer Ayesha Ghosh have moved on from the agency. The development was confirmed by dentsu Creative India CEO Amit Wadhwa in a statement to IndianTelevision.com.
“Both Ayesha and Titus are great talents, and I am thankful to them for all their contributions at dentsu, ” said Amit Wadhwa. “As we gear up for our next phase of growth and continue to pursue our global ambitions into becoming the most integrated agency of the world, we will keep transitioning more and more of our strong & young powerhouses into our leaders of tomorrow.”
“We will also continue to add some exceptionally new talents who will embark with us on this fresh & exciting journey,” he further added.
At Taproot, Ghosh was elevated as CEO in June 2021 and was responsible for both Mumbai and Gurgaon offices. Previously, she headed the agency’s Mumbai office. Ghosh joined Taproot Dentsu in December 2015.
Titus Upputuru was promoted to the role of NCD at Taproot Dentsu Gurgaon in March this year and was leading the agency’s Gurgaon creative team. Titus had also been entrusted with the additional charge of leading integrated solutions for dentsu Creative India. Before that, he was the creative head at the agency, having joined the agency in April 2011.
MAM
Kate Rouch steps down as OpenAI Chief Marketing Officer
Marketing leader prioritises health after late-stage breast cancer diagnosis.
MUMBAI: When the toughest battle moves from the boardroom to the personal front, even the sharpest minds know it’s time to step back and focus on winning the most important fight of all. Kate Rouch, chief marketing officer at OpenAI, has announced she is stepping down from her role to focus on recovery following a diagnosis of late-stage breast cancer.
In a heartfelt LinkedIn post, Rouch revealed she was diagnosed around a year and a half ago, shortly after taking on the CMO position. Despite undergoing intensive treatment, she continued to lead the company’s marketing function through what she described as one of the most challenging periods of her career.
She explained that while she remained deeply committed to her role and team, she had reached a point where prioritising her health and recovery had become essential. Rouch called the decision difficult, noting it required acknowledging personal limits and shifting priorities. She reflected that the experience had reshaped her understanding of courage not always about pushing harder, but sometimes about stepping back to focus on long-term wellbeing, family and sustainability.
Rouch expressed gratitude to her team and colleagues for their support. She mentioned that Gary will step in to help lead the function and recruit a successor. She plans to support the transition and remains open to returning in a different capacity in the future, depending on her health.
Prior to joining OpenAI, Rouch served as the first chief marketing officer at Coinbase and spent over a decade at Meta, where she was vice president and global head of brand and product marketing.
She also thanked well-wishers for their messages and shared that stories from fellow survivors had a meaningful impact during her treatment journey.
In the high-stakes world of tech marketing, Kate Rouch has always been known for her strategic brilliance. Now, she is showing a different kind of strength, one that reminds us that even the most driven leaders sometimes need to pause, heal, and come back stronger when the time is right. Wishing her a full and steady recovery.
