MAM
Vdopia appoints Daniel Ahiakpor as VP, business development
MUMBAI: Vdopia has announced the appointment of Daniel Ahiakpor as its vice president, business development, a newly created position in Vdopia’s New York office. Ahiakpor will be responsible for striking and developing key publisher and mobile-app partnerships for the company.
Vdopia co-founder, chief operating officer Chhavi Upadhyay said, “Daniel is an accomplished advertising technology professional with over 12 years of experience in sales, business development, publisher relations, and ad operations with a focus on video. He will be an important addition to our New York operation as we ramp up our mobile video programmatic buying and selling capabilities.”
Ahiakpor began his career with Providian Financial (now owned by JPMorgan Chase) as a project coordinator – marketing operations.
Ahiakpor comes to Vdopia from Adap.tv (New York), an AOL Company, and a video ad exchange and platform, where he led the company’s North American publisher platform business as Sr. director/head of publisher platform sales.
Prior to that, he was a senior member of the publisher business development team at ScanScout, a technology-driven video ad network which was sold to Tremor Video in late 2010.
Additionally, he has also held various roles in operations, ad technologies and sales development over several years for Yahoo and for Fox Interactive Media.
“I joined Vdopia because of its solid global position at the intersection of mobile and video. As we know, both are among the most important and fastest growing categories in digital advertising. Simply put, mobile is the environment in which audiences are most engaged, and video is often the most effective and entertaining way to deliver branded messages to audiences,” explained Ahiakpor.
He added, “With its proprietary, VDO format, Vdopia brings innovation into the equation by helping marketers target and deliver creative branded video messages across mobile and tablet devices, with greater ease and efficiency. Vdopia is also bringing automation to its ad solution to further streamline the process of planning, buying and selling mobile video.”
Vdopia VP-APAC Preetesh Chouhan said, “Daniel is an accomplished advertising professional. He will play a pivotal role in Vdopia’s efforts to bring automation to its ad solution to further streamline the process of optimising mobile video. The recent inclusion of talented industry players like Daniel in our team will further boost the growth wave that Vdopia has been riding on.”
MAM
HUL appoints Pavan Bedi as CMO for Foods business
Veteran marketer with 22-plus years at Unilever takes charge of foods portfolio in Mumbai.
MUMBAI: HUL’s foods division just got a seasoned flavour boost because when it comes to seasoning success, Pavan Bedi knows exactly how to stir the pot. Hindustan Unilever (HUL) has elevated long-time leader Pavan Bedi to chief marketing officer for its Foods business, the company confirmed on 23 February 2026. Bedi, who has spent over 22 years with the FMCG giant, shared the news himself on LinkedIn, writing: “I’m delighted to share that I will be stepping into a new role as CMO Foods, HUL”.
Before this Mumbai-based appointment, Bedi served as global brand vice president for more than four years. His career is dotted with high-impact global roles: he was global brand director for Pond’s (based in Singapore), driving innovation across South Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, led the high-profile rebranding of Fair & Lovely to Glow & Lovely as global brand director; and spent six years shaping Lifebuoy’s “Purpose agenda” and “Social Mission”, forging public-private partnerships with the United Nations and other platforms.
Now overseeing HUL’s sprawling foods lineup from staples to snacks and everything in between Bedi steps into one of the company’s most dynamic verticals at a time when consumer tastes are evolving fast. His track record blending global scale, brand transformation, and purpose-led marketing makes him a natural fit for steering strategic growth and creative campaigns in the category.
In his LinkedIn post, Bedi underscored his enduring commitment to Unilever’s vision, framing the move as another chapter in a career built on long-term impact rather than quick wins.
For an organisation that thrives on trusted, household names, Bedi’s elevation is less a surprise and more a reminder, the best recipes for growth often come from ingredients that have been simmering for over two decades. Whether it’s rebranding icons or building purpose at scale, he’s now tasked with making sure HUL’s foods business stays as appetising tomorrow as it is today.
