MAM
WPP’s Possible Worldwide appoints Kamal Krishna as MD for India
MUMBAI: WPP’s digital agency Possible Worldwide (PWW) India has appointed Kamal Krishna as managing director and Prashant Shivankutty as senior vice-president in a bid to strengthen its India team.
Krishna comes in from e-commerce beStylish.com where he was head marketing and was part of the launch team and led marketing and tech initiatives through two funding series.
Shivankutty’s previous stint was with mobile value added services provider Comviva as associate vice-president.
While Krishna will be responsible for enhancing PWW‘s regional operations along with managing the overall business, Shivankutty has been roped in to manage and upgrade the agency’s technology and creative teams for domestic as well as international digital delivery.
Krishna has more than 15 years of experience. He has in the past led WPP Digital‘s key business initiatives and accounts across Asia and Africa. Pritor to beStylish.com, he was part of the team that established WPP’s digital agency Squad Digital. He has also been involved with the launch of Publicis Groupe‘s Digitas India and has worked on brands such as Hewlett-Packard, General Motors, Unilever, Skoda, Microsoft and Airtel.
Starting his career in 1996, Shivankutty’s first job was with Infovision Group where he spent eight years heading its software development lab and CRM practice. He then shifted to Sapient in early 2004 and five years later to Quasar in 2009. In his last assignment, Shivankutty led global delivery at Comviva, managing clients such as Airtel, Tigo, MTN, BanglaLink, Grameen Phone and Etisalat.
WPP launched Possible Worldwide as a global interactive marketing outfit 2011 by combining its digital agencies Schematic, Bridge Worldwide (US), ZAAZ (US), Blue (Singapore), Quasar (India), Grape (Russia) and Carnation Group (Europe).
Australia Tourism Board, Makemytrip and Cathay Pacific.
MAM
Agoda honours over 200 Indian hotels with Gold Circle Awards
Platform celebrates top performers as international searches for India surge.
MUMBAI: When it comes to rolling out the red carpet for hotels, Agoda clearly knows how to make the awards feel golden especially when over 200 Indian properties are shining bright this year. Agoda has awarded more than 200 hotels across India in the 17th edition of its Gold Circle Awards, placing the country fourth globally in the number of awardees. The annual honours recognise properties that deliver consistently high guest standards, strong digital engagement and operational adaptability. This year’s winners were heavily concentrated in India’s top business-and-leisure hubs such as Mumbai, New Delhi and Bengaluru.
Interest in travel to India has grown significantly among international travellers, with accommodation searches experiencing a 24-fold year-on-year increase. Searches from the United Arab Emirates rose 81 per cent compared with the previous year, while travellers from Malaysia, the United States and Singapore recorded 40 per cent growth.
This momentum coincides with the Government of India’s announcement at the South Asia Travel and Tourism Exhibition to double airport capacity, a move expected to strengthen international connectivity and unlock further hotel and tour demand as infrastructure scales up to meet tourism growth that is currently outpacing supply.
Agoda country director for the Indian Subcontinent and Indian Ocean Islands Gaurav Malik said the rising interest is a win for both the market and hoteliers. “It’s encouraging to see how quickly the ecosystem and its partners are rising to meet that demand. As connectivity improves and airport capacity expands, India is well positioned to welcome even more travellers and to showcase the incredible depth and variety of experiences the country has to offer,” he noted.
2025 Gold Circle Awards ranking by market (number of winners):
Globally, the 17th edition of Agoda’s Gold Circle Awards recognised over 3,000 hotel partners for excellence in operational performance and guest experience. Insights from Agoda’s “Tailored to Win” report further highlight that nearly 98 per cent of Indian hotels using advanced localisation strategies reported a positive impact on revenue, underscoring the importance of tailored content, payments and guest touchpoints in capturing both international and domestic demand.
In the race for travellers’ attention, it seems Indian hotels are not just keeping pace, they’re earning gold medals while doing so.
