iWorld
Harini Calamur, intellect behind LeEco’s content strategy in India
MUMBAI: After a successful run with Zee Media Corporation Limited as the head digital content for news, Harini Calamur is enthralled on joining LeEco as the head for original content.
LeEco has shown signs of aggression and has announced a slew of content initiatives and acquisitions in Asia over the past few months.
“It’s a fun place to be in. Content consumption patterns are moving to mobile phones now. It’s exciting to see the increasing demand for intriguing content from Indian viewers. Delivering gripping content to the viewers is pleasing”, says Calamur.
She is responsible for developing original content for LeEco’s OTT platforms in India across languages and genres. During her tenure with Zee, Calamur conceptualized, designed, and implement a digital news content strategy for all the news brands of the group –dna and Zee News and regional variants. She moved the entities from companion websites to digital products, with loyal audiences and advertisers and also launched the hyperlocal platform for the group, iamin.in, present in 36 locations across India.
The global internet and technology conglomerate LeEco is also called the Netflix of China for its content eco-system. The soon to launch platform plans to produce as well as commission content for its viewers in India. It has Atul Jain as the COO Smart Electronics Business in conjunction with Debashish Ghosh COO looking after the entire Indian content business and Divya Dixit as director of content marketing for India.
The company recently launched its flagship superphones, Le Max and Le1s, in the Indian market. As a partner, ErosNow will be integrated within the Le ecosystem of internet enabled smartphones and smart televisions, showcasing ErosNow’s Bollywood films, music and originals. Devices will include a one-year premium subscription to ErosNow service pre-bundled with the purchase of the phones. The launch of Le 2 Superphone by LeEco has stirred the pricing landscape in India and has given a new lease of vibrancy to the smartphone market in India.
LeEco has once again renewed its exclusive partnership with Flipkart. An agreement cementing this alliance was signed off between Atul Jain and Flipkart chief marketing officer Samardeep Subandh.
Gaming
MTG gaming chief Benninghoff joins NODWIN board as esports firm primes for IPO
The Gurugram-based esports firm is pursuing a public listing, has returned to profitability and is growing revenues by 42 per cent
GURUGRAM: NODWIN Gaming is moving fast. The Gurugram-based gaming and esports company has launched a pre-IPO fundraising round, appointed UBS as lead adviser for both the round and a subsequent public listing, and landed a heavyweight board director, all in one go.
The new board member is Arnd Benninghoff, executive vice president of gaming at Stockholm-listed Modern Times Group (MTG), who has overseen the group’s strategic investments and portfolio growth since 2014. He is no stranger to building things: Benninghoff has founded and built fifteen companies, served as chief digital officer at ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG, managing director of SevenVentures, and chief executive of Holtzbrinck eLAB. He began his career as a journalist at Deutsche Presse Agentur and various TV networks, holds a Diplom-Kaufmann in business and administration from the University of Münster, and previously sat on the board of Edgeware AB.
The numbers back the ambition
NODWIN is not pitching a story without substance. The company has returned to EBITDA profitability and posted a 42 per cent year-on-year revenue surge, reaching $58.5m in the first nine months of FY2026. The pre-IPO round will combine a primary issuance to fund global expansion through organic growth and acquisitions, alongside a secondary sale to give existing shareholders some liquidity.
Akshat Rathee, co-founder and managing director of NODWIN Gaming, said Benninghoff understands “the entire lifecycle of the gaming and media ecosystem, from the boots-on-the-ground reality of building startups to the strategic complexity of managing multi-billion dollar global portfolios.”
Benninghoff, for his part, said the company “sits at the intersection of sports, entertainment, and technology, making it one of the most exciting players in the global gaming landscape today.”
A portfolio built for the global south
Founded in 2014 by Rathee and Gautam Virk, NODWIN has quietly assembled one of the more compelling esports portfolios outside the Western hemisphere. Its properties include DreamHack India and Comic Con India, and it recently acquired StarLadder, the Ukraine-based tournament organiser behind premier events in CS:GO and Dota 2. The company also serves as a long-term strategic marketing partner for the Evolution Championship Series (EVO), the world’s most prominent fighting game tournament, helping push it into new geographies.
Its geographic focus spans South Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Backers include Nazara Technologies, KRAFTON, Sony Group Corporation, JetSynthesys, and the founders’ investment vehicle Good Game Investments.
What comes next
With UBS running the books, a board freshly reinforced with European media and gaming expertise, and revenue heading in the right direction, NODWIN is laying the groundwork deliberately. The esports industry has burned investors before with big promises and thin margins. NODWIN’s return to profitability, combined with a real portfolio of owned intellectual properties across gaming, music and youth culture, gives it a more credible runway than most. The IPO clock is now ticking.
