Kotecha takes reins as CEO of PepsiCo, India

P epsiCo India promotes Jagrut Kotecha as the CEO of its India Operations and will succeed Ahmed El Sheikh, who will take over as CEO for the Middle East Business Unit, effective March 2024. Kotecha is currently the Chief Commercial Officer for PepsiCo in Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia (AMESA). Kotecha is a veteran who has been with PepsiCo for almost three decades, and his new elevation follows the company’s series of leadership changes across AMESA. He is expected to ensure the company’s future growth in the Indian market. Kote- cha began his PepsiCo journey in 1994 in the Sales and Marketing portfolio, holding multiple roles, includ- ing that of Regional Sales Manager and Marketing Manager. In 2018, as VP of PepsiCo India, he steered innovations and transformed the company's Lays and Kurkure brands in sync with Indian consumers. He also oversaw the India launch of the Doritos brand in 2017. As a Brand Manager, he was responsible for the company’s end-to-end profit and loss (P&L). He was Director-Sales (Foods-ASPAC), stationed in Bangkok between 2000-2002; was Commer- cial Director, in the Philippines (2003-2005), and as General Manager (2006-2020), holding responsibilities across the company’s Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Pacific and Mongolia markets. From 2011, he held several senior positions including that of the Country Manager (Thailand), VP-Snacks, India, and VP of Global Affordable Platforms-Food. Before his illustrious innings with PepsiCo, he had kick-started his career with Cadbury (sales) in 1992. A BE Chemical Engineer from the University of Mumbai, he is an alumnus of the SVKM's Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS).

Colliers expands Sankey Prasad’s role in West Asia

Sankey Prasad

The Canada-based diversified professional services and investment management company, Colliers has appointed Sankey Prasad as Chairman and Managing Director for India and Chairman and Managing director for Colliers Project Leaders Middle East (West Asia). Prasad’s expanded leadership is aimed at capitalising on the growing potential of the real estate services business in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. He will also continue to oversee Colliers India’s business growth alongside CEO Badal Yagnik, who will continue to lead day-to-day operations and build scale for its India business. Prasad will collaborate with Yamin Shihab, Vice President, Project Leaders Middle East, supporting Colliers’ brand reach and service delivery for its client-led capital projects. In September 2019, Colliers acquired a controlling stake in Bengaluru-based Synergy Property Development Services, founded by Sankey Prasad. He founded India's largest project management firm and after its acquisition by Colliers’s, became the Chairman and Managing Director of India, leading a team of 3000+ Colliers’ professionals. Prasad’s leadership in India enabled Colliers to diversify into new markets, develop cutting-edge technologies, expand its range of services, and deliver 130+ million square feet of real estate development spanning India, West Asia, Africa, and South Asia. A civil engineer, Prasad is an entrepreneur with a career spanning over four decades. Sankey has won accolades, both in India and worldwide, for his contribution to the real estate sector, including that of the ‘Most Inspirational Leader’ by White Page International (WPI), among others. The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has conferred Sankey with the title of FRICS

Binny Bansal resigns from Flipkart’s board

Binny Bansal

Walmart-backed e-commerce Flipkart founder, Binny Bansal, has officially resigned from the company’s board, as he envisaged a conflict of interest with his new start-up OppDoor, a business-to-business (B2B) platform, programmed to help rise e-commerce brands to expand globally. Binny has been associated with Flipkart for almost 16+ years, which he co-founded with Sachin Bansal in 2007 in Bengaluru. While co-founder Sachin, divested his entire 5% stake in Flipkart to Walmart for about $1 billion in 2018, Binny sold his entire Flipkart stake sometime in July 2023. His decision to step down from the company he co-founded, is based on his belief that the company is in good hands and that he remains a strong supporter of the business. A Software Engineer, Binny, kickstarted his career with Sarnoff, moving on to Amazon and eventually co-founded Flipkart in September 2007. He is a board member of GreyOrange, Acko, Cure- foods, PhonePe, and IIT Delhi Endowment and an Advisor with 021 Capital, Udhyam Learning Foundation, N/Core, and a Co-founder and Exec Chairman of xto10x Technologies. He is an alumnus of the IIT- Delhi.

Ola ropes in former Unilever stalwart, Bakshi, as CEO

Hemant Bakshi

Hemant Bakshi takes over as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ola, the ride-hailing arm of ANI Technologies. He replaces founder CEO, Bhavish Aggarwal, who has relinquished his position to facilitate the company’s strategic reorganisation, restructuring, and streamlining of operations. Bakshi was until recently the Executive Vice President of Unilever marketplace and Chairman, Unilever Indonesia. He is expected to steer Ola with his hands-on approach and understanding of the core business. He is expected to enable transformative changes, to sustain Ola at the forefront of the ride-hailing sector. He joined Ola four months ago and moved back to India, and has since uniquely, assumed the role of an Ola cab driver by night, gaining firsthand insights into customer experiences and expectations. This undercover Ola cabbie role reflects his commitment to understanding the nuances of the business he would be leading. In his previous stint with Unilever as its global head and Vice President of Unilever marketplace, he built a digitally native eB2B business, connecting directly with 250,000+ traditional trade stores across 12 markets in Latam, Asia, and the Middle East. Bakshi's career at Unilever began as the Executive Director of Sales and Customer Development, and gradually progressed within the company in the past 15+ years. He holds a degree in Chemical Engineering and is an alumnus of the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT-Bombay) and Indian Institute of Management (IIM-Ahmedabad).

Lockton ropes in Dadia, announces India launch

Dr. Sandeep Dadia

D r. Sandeep Dadia joins as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Lockton, the world's largest independent insurance brokerage, and will be a member of the Lockton Asia leadership team. Dadia recently quit his role as CEO and Principal Officer, Aditya Birla Insurance Brokers Limited (ABIBL) and is expected to drive Lockton’s growth, oversee its business expansions in India, attract top talent, and acquire clients. He is expected to optimise the investment broker’s global expertise platform and sync it to regional talent. Dadia announced his exit from ABIBL via a LinkedIn post, which said that in his upcoming new journey, he would embrace change, growth, and the adventure that awaits him, in delivering high-quality insurance services tailored to the Indian market. He brings two decades of experience in the insurance sector to Lockton’s top management. A stalwart in the insurance sector, Dadia held several prominent roles in his career journey, leading four startups, and held leadership positions at Enam Insurance Brokers Pvt. Ltd, and TTK Healthcare Services, before joining ABIBL. He has been on the Board of Directors of the Insurance Broker Association of India, as Convener for Broking in Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), and on the advisory committee of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) for Cyber Insurance. Dr. Dadia holds an MBBS degree from the MGM Medical College – India, Jamshedpur. With over 135 offices worldwide, Lockton India's entry is subject to regulatory approval.

Bhat is MD and CEO of Mahindra Holidays

Manoj Bhat

Manoj Bhat takes over as MD and CEO of Mahindra Holidays Resorts India Ltd (MHRIL), replacing Kavinder Singh. The recent leadership rejigs at Mahindra and Mahindra, follow Singh's resignation from the company. Likewise, Amarjyoti Barua will take over as the group chief financial officer (CFO), replacing Manoj Bhat, effective March 17, 2024. In another move, Avinash Bapat will succeed Vimal Agarwal, who is the current CFO of Mahindra Lifespaces Developers, and will take the reins as the new CFO at Mahindra Holidays Resorts India (MHRIL). The new leadership changes reflect the Mahindra group’s increased internal job rotations. Manoj’s leadership experiences and value-creation skills are expected to usher in the company’s next growth phase. Bhat is a Mahindra group veteran and held various leadership positions with Tech Mahindra as Deputy CFO, Head, of M&A and Corporate Planning, and as Vice President of Corporate Planning Deal Structuring M&A Investor relations. He was the CFO with Tech Mahindra (2018-2021) and his most current position was of Group Chief Financial Officer before his new promotion with MHRIL. Bhat is a non-Executive Director at Tech Mahindra Limited and the Group Chief Financial Officer and member of the Group Executive Board of the Mahindra Group. He is a member of the audit committee, stakeholders’ relationship committee, corporate social responsibility committee, risk management committee and investment committee of Tech Mahindra Limited. Bhat is an alumnus of the IIT-Bombay and IIM-Bangalore.

Murdeshwar quits Novartis India

Sanjay Murdeshwar

Sanjay Murdeshwar, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of Novartis India, has resigned and will cease to be an employee of the pharma major, effective April 2, 2024. In a letter to the company board, he said that his personal and professional aspirations have evolved over time and that it was the right time for him to pursue a new direction. He joined Novartis in 2019 and has 20+ years of experience in the healthcare sector, across multiple roles in the pharmaceuticals and consumer health businesses at the country, region and global levels. Before his illustrious innings with Novartis, he was the Vice President of the Global Product and Portfolio Strategy group with AstraZeneca, based in Maryland, USA. Before his US posting, he was the Country President and Managing Director of AstraZeneca India since 2013. He has had close to 17 years of experience with Bayer AG before his AstraZeneca days steering multiple general management roles, sales, marketing, finance, and strategy across geographies, US, Germany and India. He is considered a global healthcare leader and holds a Bachelor's Degree in Chemical Engineering and an MBA.

Bhavana Mandon is country manager, Lego Group

Bhavana Mandon

The LEGO Group has promoted Bhavana Mandon, as the Country Manager from her pre- vious position as the Marketing Director, India. She will be responsible for expanding the Lego Group's footprint across India. She will be reporting to Claus Kristensen, the newly appointed senior vice president, Lego APAC. Kristensen will oversee the APAC region, including the creation of newly reshuffled business units for India and emerging Asia (IEA) and Singapore, Malaysia and Travel Retail (SMTR). Her deep understanding of the Indian market, shoppers, the toy industry, and her combined passion, are expected to inspire creativity and align it with the company’s commitment to growing local leaders. Bhavana will steer the group’s strategic efforts to enable LEGO Bricks for kids, nurturing the creative potential of children in India, and enabling 21st-century skills for future generations. She will be responsible for expanding the LEGO Group's footprint across India. Bhavana brings 17+ years of experience in sales and marketing across prestigious local and global brands. Her experience contributes to their mission of creating joyful moments through play.

TTK Prestige appoints Venkatesh Vijayaraghavan as CEO

Venkatesh Vijayaraghavan

Venkatesh Vijayaraghavan joins TTK Prestige Ltd, as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and has quit his role as CEO and Director with CavinKare. TTK announced the new leadership change via a LinkedIn post. Vijayaraghavan is considered a seasoned people leader, bringing 27 years of experience across the manufacturing, telecom, FMCG, and D2C sectors. He managed large diverse teams, multiple LOBs and P&Ls. He began his career at Indian Organic Chemicals and moved on to steer leadership positions across Reliance Industries, Escotel Mobile Communications, and Airtel. He was also a member of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). As the chief marketing officer at Airtel, he headed the marketing op- erations function for Bharti Airtel's consumer business. He also led marketing functions across LOBs, across the company's 18 geographical operating units in India and South Asia. A Fulbright scholar, he is an alumnus of several prestigious institutions including Carne- gie Mellon University - Tepper School of Business, IIM-Ahmedabad, Anna University, Times School of Marketing, and Insead, Singapore.