Brand Marketing
FMCG firms cut senior roles by 32%; Total headcount shrinks 9.26% in FY25
Mahesh Shetty appointed Head of Revenue, Entertainment at JioStar as Ajit Varghese exits to join Madison
Ajit Varghese, Head of Revenue, Entertainment & International at JioStar, has stepped down from his role and is joining Madison as Partner and CEO.
Mahesh Shetty (R), who has been leading the LCS business, will take over from Varghese (L).
Ajit Varghese, Head of Revenue, Entertainment & International at JioStar, has stepped down from his role and is set to join Madison as Partner and CEO, as confirmed with Storyboard18.
Mahesh Shetty, who has been leading the Large Customer Sales (LCS) business, will succeed Varghese.
His responsibilities will now expand beyond LCS to encompass the entire revenue function across JioStar’s entertainment network, the company informed employees in an internal memo.
Shetty, who joined JioStar in December 2024, brings with him over 20 years of experience in media and sales. In his new role, he will be responsible for driving revenue growth across all of the network’s properties.
Prior to joining JioStar, Shetty held the position of Head of Network Sales at Viacom18, where he played a crucial role in shaping network sales strategies and building strong client relationships. His tenure at Radio Mirchi was equally noteworthy, where he served as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Strategy Officer, gaining valuable insights into media operations and strategic planning.
Varghese had joined JioStar in 2023 as Head of Network Advertising Sales. Before this, he was Chief Commercial Officer at ShareChat and Moj. Earlier, he served as Global President at Wavemaker (WPP Group), managing business operations across 50+ markets from London.
Before that, he was CEO, Asia Pacific at Maxus (WPP) based in Singapore.
Together, the duo had collaborated to innovate and drive revenue growth for the company, leveraging JioStar’s integrated platform capabilities.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy eyes conversational ads in Alexa+ to fuel AI investments
Amazon’s competitors in the AI space seem to think advertising is a promising business model for generative AI, too. Google is exploring how to infuse ads into its AI-powered search experience, AI mode. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said he’s open to a “tasteful” form of advertising in ChatGPT.