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
Kartik Vishwanathan returns to WPP Media as VP – investments
14-year Mindshare veteran takes special assignment role from February 2026.
MUMBAI: Kartik Vishwanathan has made a sharp return on investment rejoining WPP Media, the very organisation that shaped a big chunk of his professional journey. The seasoned media executive has been appointed vice president for investments (Special Assignment) at WPP Media, effective February 2026. He will contribute to both regional and global priorities in this strategic mandate.
With over 14 years and 7 months at Mindshare, Vishwanathan brings deep expertise across investment strategy, strategic initiatives, and integration. His most recent role was Head of Investment Strategy – Mindshare China (Dec 2019–Oct 2023) in Shanghai, following his stint as Head – Strategic Initiatives and Integration – Mindshare India (Jun 2018–Nov 2019). Earlier, he served as Principal Partner at The Exchange in Mumbai (Jan 2016–Jun 2018).
Before Mindshare, he held short-term roles as Process Manager – Pricing Analytics at eClerx and Project Manager at Fractal Analytics in Mumbai.
Vishwanathan holds an Executive Programme in Business Management from Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (May 2007–Apr 2008) and a Post Graduate Certification in Advertising and Public Relations from MICA (2011–2012).
His return to WPP comes at a time when the media investment landscape is evolving rapidly, with brands demanding sharper, more integrated strategies across platforms. For someone who cut his teeth at the agency group years ago, this homecoming feels less like a new chapter and more like picking up a well-worn, high-return playbook.
