Brand Makers
Priya Nair appointed new CEO and MD of Hindustan Unilever, replaces Rohit Jawa
CXO Moves: Exec movements across HUL, Apple, Titan Company, BMW Group India, Kia India, X, Ogilvy, McCann Worldgroup and more
Executive moves in the world of brands and agencies.
Get the full picture on people and their moves on the corporate jungle gym in CXO Moves. (Representational image via Unsplash)
Keep up with all the key people movements in the brand marketing ecosystem in Storyboard18’s CXO Moves. Here’s a round-up of the executives who've moved jobs, got bigger roles, switched industries and more.
Priya Nair
Previous: Business group president, Beauty & Wellbeing, HUL
Present: CEO and MD, HUL
HUL elevates Priya Nair to a new role. Nair, who in January 2024 was named business group president for beauty and wellbeing at Unilever, overseeing a €12 billion portfolio across hair care, skin care, prestige beauty and health supplements, returned to lead HUL at a time when the company is navigating rising competition from agile local players and evolving consumer preferences across urban and rural India.
Arun Narayan and Kuruvilla Markose
Titan Company, part of the Tata Group, has announced key leadership transitions as it gears up for its next phase of growth in its jewellery and watches divisions.
Arun Narayan, who currently leads Titan’s Tanishq India business overseeing retail, marketing, and merchandising, will become CEO of the Jewellery Division effective January 1, 2026.
Meanwhile, Kuruvilla Markose, currently CEO of Titan’s International Business Division, will succeed Suparna Mitra as CEO of the Watches Division effective August 13, 2025.
Sabih Khan
Apple announced that its senior vice president - operations, Sabih Khan will take on the role of chief operating officer later this month. Khan will succeed Apple veteran Jeff Williams. Williams will continue reporting to CEO Tim Cook in the interim. He will also oversee the design team, Apple watch and health initiatives. Upon his retirement, the design team will directly report to Cook.
Hardeep Singh Brar
Previous: Senior vice president and head of marketing and sales, Kia India
Present: President & CEO, BMW Group India
BMW Group India has named Hardeep Singh Brar as the president and chief executive officer. He has worked across Pertech Computers, Maruti Suzuki India, Volkswagen Passenger Cars, General Motors India, Nissan Motor Corporation, and Great Wall Motor Co.
Stacey Ryan Cornelius
Previous: Global Chief Financial Officer, Ogilvy
Present: Global CFO, Burson
Burson has named Stacey Ryan Cornelius as global chief financial officer. She has worked across Price Waterhouse Coopers, WPP Health & Wellness, and Geometry Global.
Ida Rezvani
Previous: Global Client Lead, Publicis Groupe
Present: President & Global Chief Client Officer, McCann Worldgroup
McCann Worldgroup has appointed Ida Rezvani in a new role. She has worked across WPP, Dentsu International, mcgarrybowen etc.
Kausalya Nandakumar
Previous: Chief Operating Officer, Mahindra Electric Automobile
Present: Chief Business Officer, Hero MotoCorp
Hero MotoCorp has appointed Kausalya Nandakumar as chief business officer. She has also worked at Mahindra Group.
Michael Burke
Previous: Chairman and CEO, LVMH Americas
Michael Burke, a longtime executive of LVMH, a luxury goods conglomerate, has been named the chairman and chief executive officer of LVMH Americas.
In this role, Burke will report to managing director Stephane Bianchi. Anish Melwani, CEO, LVMH, and Davide Marcovitch, president, LVMH Latin America will report to him, stated a media report.
Vikram Pawah
Previous: President & CEO, BMW Group India
Present: CEO, BMW Group ANZ
Vikram Pawah, who led BMW Group India as president and chief executive officer, has been appointed by BMW Group ANZ as CEO. Pawah was succeeded by Hardeep Singh Brar at BMW Group India. Pawah has worked across Jay Engineering, Honda Siel Power Products, Honda Cars India and Harley-Davidson India.
Linda Yaccarino
Previous: CEO, X
Linda Yaccarino, chief executive officer of X (formerly Twitter), has announced that she is stepping down from her position. Yaccarino assumed the role in 2023, where she also worked at Turner and NBCUniversal.
Abhineet Kothari
Previous: Category Head - Passenger Vehicles, Apollo Tyres
Present: Marketing Head, India & SE Asia, Apollo Tyres
Apollo Tyres elevates Abhineet Kothari to a new role. He has worked across Shell Shipping, Kellogg Company, Castrol and Paytm.
Snigdha Anand
Previous: VP - Marketing, Mamaearth
Present: SVP - Marketing, Mamaearth
Mamaearth elevates Snigdha Anand to senior vice president - marketing. She has worked across Godrej Consumer Products Limited and Unilever.
Pratik Vaja
Previous: Head of Marketing and CRM, More Retail
Present: Head of Marketing, Licious
Licious has appointed Pratik Vaja in a new role. He has worked at ITC Limited too.
Mrinalini Srinivasan
Previous: Chief Financial Officer, P&G Hygiene and Health and Group Controller- P&G India
Present: CFO, Castrol India
Castrol India has appointed Mrinalini Srinivasan as CFO. Srinivasan joins Castrol with over 17 years of experience at P&G India, where she held a range of leadership roles across business units and geographies, including Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Over the years, she has led strategic planning, business forecasting, compliance and commercial finance assignments, building both financial resilience and operational discipline across the organisation.
Ananya Agrawal
Previous: Global Head - Digital Marketing & Media, TVS Motor Company
Ananya Agrawal has stepped down from his position. He has worked across Quatrro, DU BEAT, Publicis Capital Advertising, Mogae Digital, Mudra Communications (now DDB Mudra Group), Reprise Media, Royal Enfield, and AB InBev India.
Anil K Pandit
Previous: Executive Vice President - Head of Programmatic | Data | Tech, Publicis Media
Present: Managing Partner - Data Strategy and Partnerships, Publicis Media
Publicis Media has elevated Anil K Pandit to a new role. He has worked across Omnicom Media Group and IAB Tech Lab.
Atul Sood
Previous: Project Vice President, Toyota Kirloskar Motors
Present: SVP - Sales and Marketing, Kia India
Kia India has named Atul Sood in a new role. Prior to this, he held roles at Toyota Kirloskar Motors and Toyota Motor Asia Pacific. He holds a PGDM in Marketing from Symbiosis Centre for Management & HRD (SCMHRD, Pune) and a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology.
Mukesh Sharma
Present: Chief Executive Officer, Bright Outdoor Media
Bright Outdoor Media names Mukesh Sharma as CEO. In his new role, Sharma is expected to spearhead Bright Outdoor's strategic expansion, focusing on increasing market share, unlocking new revenue streams, and improving overall profitability.
Salil Dalal
Previous: Chief business officer - construction chemicals, Pidilite Industries
Salil Dalal has stepped down from his position at Pidilite Industries. He has worked across Godrej GE Appliances, Asian Paints, Future Group and Nokia.
Amrendra Saxena
Previous: Director - Business Head (IOT Devices), Flipkart
Amrendra Saxena has stepped down from his position. He has worked across Infosys and Rabobank.
Ashutosh Gupta
Previous: Operating Partner, Avatar Venture Partners
Present: Managing Director, India & APAC, Coursera
Coursera names Ashutosh Gupta as the managing director. He has worked across SRF, ICICI Securities, Infosys, Covansys, Cognizant, Google and LinkedIn.
Compiled by Kashmeera Sambamurthy
SPOTLIGHT
The Storyboard18 Digital Entertainment Summit (DES) unpacked India's strategy for leading the digital entertainment economy, with top policymakers where they putlined how talent, technology, and governance would fuel future-ready growth.
Read MoreIn Photos: At DES 2025, India charts ambitious course for digital entertainment leadership
At the Storyboard18 Digital Entertainment Summit in New Delhi, policymakers and industry leaders outlined how talent, technology, and governance will drive India’s push to dominate the global entertainment economy.