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Mahindra group hires Devendra Sharnagat as SVP- AI division
MUMBAI: AI– especially it’s use to improve productivity and work flows – is the juice that’s keeping organisations moving forward and invest in it greatly. The Mahindra group is not far behind. It recently appointed Devendra Sharnagat as the senior vice-president of the AI division. In this new role, he will oversee the centralised data and AI expertise pool, driving the group’s AI initiatives across various companies.
Hitherto, he was the chief data & analytics officer at Mahindra Finance where he was leading data and analytics function for the financial services sector and driving business effeciency and productivity through data and digital.
He has spent a large part of his career at HDFC Bank (eight years) where he rose from being manager campaign management in the credit card division to deputy vice-president analytical marketing when he decided to quit and join Kotak Mahindra Bank. A 11-year stint there saw him rise from vice-president, head – BIU & customer value management to senior executive vice-presdent – head of data and analytics. He then made a lateral move in the Mahindra group to Mahindra Finance.
Sharnagat is well wired for the job. Apart from his work experience, he holds a master’s degree in technology from Bits Pilani and a master of management studies from Sydenham Institute of Management Studies.
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With 57 per cent single new users, Ashley Madison rebrands as discreet dating platform
Platform says majority of new members now identify as single
INDIA: Ashley Madison is shedding the “married-dating” label that defined it for two decades, repositioning itself as a platform for discreet dating in what it calls the post-social media age.
The rebrand, unveiled in India on 27 February, 2026, marks a structural shift in business model and identity. Once synonymous with married dating, the company now describes itself as the “premier destination for discreet dating” under a new tagline: Where Desire Meets Discretion.
The pivot is data-driven. Internal figures show that 57 per cent of global sign-ups between 1 January and 31 December, 2025 identified as single: a notable departure from the platform’s married core. The company argues that its community has already evolved beyond its original positioning.
“In an age where our lives have been constantly put on public display, privacy has become the new luxury,” said Ashley Madison chief strategy officer Paul Keable. He framed the platform’s offering as “ethical discretion” for singles, separated, divorced and non-monogamous users seeking private connections.
The shift also taps into wider digital fatigue. A global survey conducted by YouGov for Ashley Madison, covering 13,071 adults across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, found mounting discomfort with hyper-public online lives.
Among dating app users, 30 per cent cited constant swiping and messaging as a source of fatigue, while 24 per cent pointed to pressure to curate public-facing profiles and early personal disclosure. Some 27 per cent said fears of screenshots or information being shared contributed to exhaustion; an equal share cited unwanted attention.
The retreat from oversharing appears broader. According to the survey, 46 per cent of adults actively try to keep most aspects of their life private online. Only 8 per cent feel comfortable sharing most aspects publicly, while 35 per cent say they are becoming more selective about what they disclose.
Ashley Madison is betting that this cultural recalibration towards controlled visibility can be monetised. By doubling down on privacy infrastructure and reframing itself around discretion rather than infidelity, the company is attempting to convert reputational baggage into a premium proposition.
