iWorld
Nokia Networks’ Ashish Chowdhary to lead Apple India ops
MUMBAI: Ashish Chowdhary, the chief customer operations officer of Nokia Networks has been appointed as Apple India head. He will take over as Apple India head from January next year.
Nokia, confirming his departure, said that Chowdhary will be leaving “at the end of 2018 after 15 successful years”.
Nokia also said, “Chowdhary will continue to lead customer operations and remain a member of the Nokia Group leadership team until the end of 2018. He will then leave Nokia to take a leadership position in another company.”
Chowdhary has 25 years of international experience in the enterprise and telecom side. With Nokia he was in charge of its sales and operations worldwide. Before that, he was the head of Asia Middle East and Africa and earlier, head of Global Services Business Unit.
On 1 November, Apple CEO Tim Cook had admitted that his business was sluggish in the country and would like to do something about it. Just after that, came the appointment of Chowdhary.
“I am a big believer in India. I am very bullish on the country and the people and our ability to do well there,” said Cook.
Apple India is currently under Michel Coulomb who took over from Sanjay Kaul in December last year.
e-commerce
American Express to acquire AI startup Hyper to boost automation
Deal targets expense management as AI reshapes corporate spending tools.
MUMBAI: From receipts to robots, the expense sheet is getting a brain upgrade as American Express moves to bring artificial intelligence into the heart of corporate spending. The company has announced plans to acquire Hyper, a relatively young but fast-rising startup founded in 2022 that builds AI-powered agents capable of organising expenses, generating reports, verifying compliance with budgets and policies, and nudging users with timely reminders. The deal, expected to close in the second quarter of 2026, underscores a growing shift among financial institutions to automate traditionally manual, time-heavy workflows.
Hyper counts Sam Altman among its backers, adding a layer of Silicon Valley credibility to the acquisition. While financial details remain undisclosed, the strategic intent is clear: deepen automation capabilities and sharpen American Express’s position in the competitive corporate spending ecosystem.
The two companies are not strangers. They previously collaborated in 2024 on a co-branded credit card product, suggesting that the acquisition is less a cold buy and more an extension of an existing relationship. With this move, American Express is effectively bringing that capability in-house, aiming to embed AI directly into its commercial services stack.
Chief executive Stephen Squeri had already signalled the direction of travel in a recent shareholder letter, describing AI as a “structural shift” in how businesses operate. The Hyper acquisition appears to be a direct response to that shift, particularly in expense management, where processes such as approvals, compliance checks and reporting remain ripe for automation.
Alongside the acquisition, the company is also expanding its product suite. A recently launched business credit card offers cashback and benefits at an annual fee of $295, with another card expected later this year moves that complement its broader push into commercial services.
Taken together, the strategy points to a future where managing expenses may require fewer spreadsheets and more algorithms. For American Express, the bet is simple, if businesses are rethinking how work gets done, the tools that power that work need to evolve just as quickly.
