MAM
Yahoo! India announces strategic appointments
MUMBAI: After a profitable 2004, Yahoo! India has announced some strategic appointments, the first being of Vishal Maheshwari, who will head Yahoo! India Mobile.
Yahoo! India country manager Neville Taraporewalla also announced two new positions to lend strategic direction to Yahoo! India search and online media sales. Rishi Behal was promoted as director-strategic alliances and search, while Pearl Uppal will head the national sales function of Yahoo! India as sales director.
Announcing the new appointments, Taraporewalla said, “Yahoo! India has seen an aggressive growth rate in the last couple of years and this goes beyond just increase in online advertising revenues. Our mobile content business is also on the rise besides we see a great potential in the search business. The new appointments signify our continued investment in people, resources and technology in India and also throws light on Yahoo’s trust in local talent to power its business. The most crucial resource for Yahoo! is its people.”
Maheshwari, who has been appointed to provide renewed strategic direction to the mobile business, was formerly head of customer asset management at BPL Mobile Communications and will now use his expertise across various sectors like Telecom, Financial Services and FMCG industry to strengthen Yahoo! India’s Mobile business. He will report to Taraporewalla.
Seeing the growing potential of the search business in India, Behal, formerly regional manager- sales has been promoted to head the strategic alliances and search function for Yahoo! India. In his new position, Behal will be responsible for adapting search for Y! India and plan its road map for success in India like in many other countries. He would also specifically work with Yahoo! India’s long term alliance partners to ensure better strategic relationships as well as bringing in larger relationships in the field of health, travel and gaming besides other areas.
Uppal, on the other hand, will now spearhead the national sales function of the company as sales director and will be responsible for increasing the online advertising client base of Yahoo! India and maintaining Yahoo! India’s leadership space in the domain. Uppal will head the sales business unit which includes sales production and ad operations.
Both Behal and Uppal will report to Taraporewalla.
MAM
Happy Pawdcast launches merchandise with The Souled Store
Season 2 success leads to co-branded line celebrating pet-parent bond.
MUMBAI: The Happy Pawdcast just gave fans something to wag their tails about because when your favourite pet show gets merch, even the couch starts feeling like a runway. Building on the momentum of Season 2 which reached over 14 million pet lovers, clocked more than 20,000 hours of content consumption and engaged over 23,000 users, The Happy Pawdcast has teamed up with The Souled Store for an exclusive co-branded merchandise collection. The line translates the podcast’s emotional core into wearable designs that celebrate the everyday bond between pets and their parents.
Hosted by Sonali Bendre and Icy Behl, Season 2 featured candid conversations with celebrity pet parents including Remo D’Souza, Diana Penty, Kubbra Sait, Rohan Joshi, Karan Wahi, Tusshar Kapoor and Amala Akkineni. The episodes tackled responsible adoption, stray welfare, pet emotional well-being and debunked common care myths, earning strong resonance across digital platforms.
Sonali Bendre said, “Season 2 reaffirmed how deeply people connect with stories around pets, responsibility, and companionship. This collaboration with The Souled Store is a natural extension of that bond, taking the conversations beyond the screen and turning shared emotions into something tangible for pet parents.”
Rose Audio Visuals head of marketing & branded content Megha H Desai added, “With Season 2, The Happy Pawdcast evolved from a content property into a strong, community-led IP. The collaboration with The Souled Store reflects our approach to building meaningful extensions around our shows where audience insight, brand alignment, and scale come together.”
The Souled Store co-founder Vedang Patel noted, “Pet parenting today is as much about identity and expression as it is about care and responsibility. This collaboration allowed us to tap into a deeply engaged, emotionally invested community and co-create designs that feel authentic and accessible.”
Produced by Rosepod (the podcasting division of Rose Audio Visuals), the merchandise marks the podcast’s shift from audio-video content into a broader lifestyle IP, while aligning with The Souled Store’s focus on pop-culture-led, community-first products and its animal welfare initiatives through World For All.
In a pet-parent world where love often comes with a leash and a hoodie, The Happy Pawdcast isn’t just telling stories anymore, it’s letting fans wear them, proving the bond between humans and their fur-babies deserves more than likes, it deserves to be flaunted.
