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Zee Turner appoints Virad Kaul as CEO
MUMBAI: Zee Turner has appointed Virad Kaul as its chief executive officer. The position was vacant as Dinesh Jain had stepped down in July this year.
Prior to his appointment, Kaul was with Idea Cellular since last four years, serving as COO UP – West. He was also holding additional charge of Delhi and Haryana circle for the last few months.
Essel Group’s group CEO – distribution businesses Arun K Kapoor said, “Virad has the vision, experience and energy to lead Zee Turner and we are confident that his leadership experience will provide great impetus to the growth plans of the company. I am sure that his focus on execution; coupled with exceptional people management and team building skills will provide a cutting edge to the company.”
Kaul has also worked with Gillette and Godfrey Phillips. He comes with over 25 years of experience in various facets of business like sales, marketing and strategy.
Heading the specialty sales vertical of Gillette in India, Kaul was responsible for brands ranging from Gillette Blades, Razors, Oral B, Prudent and Duracell. He played a key role in establishing the more specialised brands like Parker and Braun. He also handled the South Asia market of Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Maldives for Gillette.
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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.
