People
Alex Kuruvilla joins the board of Coruscant Tec
Mumbai, India – November 7, 2005 – Coruscant Tec, a leading mobile content and commerce provider announced today that it has nominated Alex Kuruvilla, former Managing Director, MTV Networks India & Executive Vice President MTV Networks Asia, as a non executive member of the Board of Directors of the Company with effect from October 2005.
In the advent of interactive technology, Alex will provide strategic direction & learnings on innovative mobile content solutions into new markets and to create product identities that have a wide reaching impact on the youth of today.
Alex joins Probir Roy, Anand Rajaraman, Venky Harinarayan and Paavan Duggal as a member of the Board of Directors. Probir is a 17 year veteran of the IT & Internet industry having been associated with Govt., Media/Broadcast and New Media buisnesses in leadership positions. Anand Rajaraman and Venky Harinarayan are founding partners of Cambrian Ventures.
Prior to Founding Cambrian in 2000, Anand was Director of Technology at Amazon.com, responsible for technology strategy and advanced technology initiatives. Venky was a General Manager at Amazon.com and helped create Amazon.com’s marketplace business. Paavan Duggal, General Counsel is a practicing advocate in the Supreme Court of India having specialised in the newly emerging field of Cyberlaw & E-Commerce law.
Welcoming Alex Kuruvilla to the Board, Ajay Adiseshann, Managing Director, Coruscant Tec, said “Alex brings with him, the rich experience of creating one of the most successful youth channels in Asia. We welcome his experience and wisdom to the Coruscant Board and feel that his presence will add to the quality of debate and decision making at the Board”.
“The incredible pace at which innovation & growth is happening in the mobile & wireless space makes it an exciting place for me to be involved with. I was very impressed by the Coruscant team’s passion and I am very excited about the breakthrough ideas that they are launching,”said Alex Kuruvilla, commenting on his association with the company.
“Alex brings on Board world class experience in marketing/branding and content. It is a privilege to have such brilliant and innovative minds as members of our Board and brings closure to our Board composition.” said Probir Roy, Founder-Director, Coruscant Tec.
Alex Kuruvilla is well known for making desi cool. With a legacy of a successful 17-year career in advertising, Alex’s last assignment involved spearheading the strategic direction and day-to-day operations of MTV, Nickelodeon (Nick) and VH1 in India and South East Asia.
Alex’s manifold achievements have secured his nomination as the ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ by Ernst & Young in 2002. Alex has also featured in Business India’s “People To Watch Out For In The New Millennium”. Alex is a regular speaker at industry events organized by FICCI, CII, the Indian School of Business.
About Coruscant Tec
Coruscant Tec, is a leading mobile solutions company focusing on the areas of content and commerce. The company was set up in 2003 in Mumbai. Today, it has offices in Mumbai, Chennai and Palo Alto (USA). The Company has alliances with several leading Indian and International aggregators, telecom operators (telcos), financial networks and banks to bring mobile content and commerce to Indian mobile subscribers. Today, Coruscant Tec has a wide range of SMS, WAP, BREW and JAVA content in the Indian market.
Coruscant Tec offers complete solutions from content supply to content provisioning and content delivery to the consumer’s handset in any part of the world. Its strengths include rich experiences in mobile and wireless domains, in-depth market know-how, proven competence in content development and the ability to provide quality, cost-effective software technology solutions using a wide array of technologies and processes.
Media Contacts
Aruna Singh, The PRactice
Phone: 022 22886104
Email: aruna@the-practice.net
People
Devika Prabhu joins Sony Pictures Networks India as business head – Hindi movies
Former Disney Star executive returns to SPNI to steer the network’s Hindi movie business
MUMBAI: Devika Prabhu is heading back to familiar turf. The veteran media executive has joined Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) as business head – Hindi movies, marking a return to the broadcaster where she began her early leadership journey.
Prabhu announced the move on LinkedIn, calling it both a new beginning and a homecoming. Earlier in her career, she spent several years at SPNI—then Multi Screen Media—working on strategic planning for Sony Entertainment Television.
The appointment brings to SPNI a media strategist with more than 25 years of experience across content, programming, brand strategy and platform growth. Most recently, Prabhu served at Disney Star as vice-president and business head – kids, youth and infotainment TV, where she led the Disney Kids and National Geographic portfolios following the Disney–Fox merger.
During her tenure, she oversaw a Rs 400-crore P&L while pushing digital expansion, partnerships and operational efficiencies. Earlier roles at Disney Star included leadership across programming, acquisitions, marketing and product strategy for multiple networks, including the UTV movie channels and youth brands.
Prabhu’s career has also spanned building cross-platform intellectual property, developing kids and family content ecosystems, and forging international format partnerships. She was closely involved in bringing global formats and franchises to Indian audiences and is widely credited with helping shape India’s anime fandom into a mainstream youth phenomenon.
At SPNI, she will now lead the Hindi movies business at a time when film channels are rethinking their role in a fragmented viewing landscape. With audiences discovering cinema across television, streaming and digital platforms, the challenge is not just programming films but reimagining how they reach viewers.
Prabhu believes movies still hold a unique cultural power, sparking conversations and creating shared moments long after the credits roll.
Now back where part of her journey began, she is set to write the next act, this time from the business seat of Hindi movie television. Lights, camera, strategy.
