Hires & Promotions: Kotak Mahindra, Google, Pubmatic, Coto

Kotak reports developments at the leadership level

Kotak Mahindra Bank has reported the following appointments at leadership levels, giving impetus to its vision for ‘Accelerating Change’ in becoming a customer-centric tech-enabled financial institution.

Ashok Vaswani, MD and CEO, Kotak Mahindra Bank says, “I am delighted to share key leadership announcements that will shape the future of our group. These leadership changes demonstrate the value of stewardship and the depth of talent we have at Kotak.” 

• KVS Manian has been appointed as the joint managing director with effect from March 1, 2024. He will spearhead the growth of wholesale bank, commercial bank, private banking, asset reconstruction division and wholesale credit. He will also continue to have oversight over the Institutional Equities and Investment Banking businesses of the Group.
• Shanti Ekambaram has been appointed as deputy managing director with effect from March 1, 2024. She will continue to drive the growth of 811, treasury and global markets businesses in addition to overseeing the functions of human resources, group marketing and corporate communications, internal vigilance, internal audit (administrative matters), public affairs, corporate social responsibility and ESG. She will also continue to have oversight over Kotak Mahindra Financial Services and Kotak Karma subsidiaries.
• Devang Gheewalla will succeed Jaimin Bhatt as the group chief financial officer with effect from April 1, 2024. Jaimin Bhatt, Kotak Group’s current group chief financial officer superannuates on March 31, 2024.
• Milind Nagnur has been elevated to chief operating officer of the bank with effect from April 1, 2024. He will continue to be the bank’s chief technology officer and will take additional responsibility for bank operations, group technology architecture and cyber security functions. In his new role, he will be responsible for building the critical enablers that will fuel our aspirations for scale.
• Paul Parambi has been elevated as group chief risk officer with effect from, March 1, 2024, thereby extending his role from the Bank to all Group companies. In his new role, Parambi will be extending his expertise in assessing risk to our Group companies.

Manian comments, “We are embarking on an exciting journey of growth and innovation, and I am honoured to step into this new role as Joint Managing Director. I am committed to working closely with my esteemed colleagues to drive our group forward, delivering value to our customers and stakeholders while upholding our core values of ethics and integrity”.

Ekambaram adds, “I thank the Board and the leadership team at Kotak for entrusting me with the role of Deputy Managing Director. As we embark on the next phase of scaling up Kotak, I look forward to contributing to the continued success and growth of our group. I am committed to collaborating closely with the team to drive strategic initiatives, foster innovation and uphold our commitment to excellence.”

Archana Vohra joins Google as MD payments and commerce, APAC

Google has appointed Archana Vohra as managing director of payments and commerce, Asia Pacific. Vohra shared the same over a LinkedIn post. 

“The opportunity to serve in this role brings full circle my experience in monetisation, commerce, large partnerships, payments and product. But more importantly it facilitates real-time learning and working with what I already believe is a dream team eager to build simple yet transformative experiences for users, clients and merchants,” the post read. 

Before joining Google, Vohra was the senior director, global business group mid-market and SMB at Meta, where her portfolio/teams included account management, business development, agency sales and program management. She was responsible for driving the majority of the monetisation across all business verticals spanning emerging and mature clients for Meta in India.

In her career spanning over 25 years, Vohra has also worked with companies like Amazon and Times Internet in the past, as director seller enablement and COO, Times Cards, Communities and Brandwire, respectively. 

PubMatic’s Peter Barry returns to APAC as VP, Addressability and Commerce Media

PubMatic has named Peter Barry as VP- addressability and commerce media, APAC, expanding its commerce offering in the region.

Barry’s appointment sees him return to PubMatic’s Australia office, following a move to New York in 2021 as PubMatic global VP of addressability and commerce, where he spent two years.

Now, he will be responsible for rolling out PubMatic’s commerce media solution, Convert, across the APAC region. In addition, Barry will be responsible for working with publishers, advertisers, identity vendors and industry bodies to ensure PubMatic’s customers are maximising addressable opportunities across their businesses as signals shift and regulations change.

During Barry’s time in the U.S., he led multiple cross-functional teams, helping PubMatic's partners to execute against addressability strategies to drive monetisation today, as well as future proof of their business. 

On the news, Barry mentions, “I am excited to work with PubMatic’s APAC team again to drive the addressability and commerce media businesses across the region. I’ve learnt a lot from my time in the US, and now I’m looking forward to ensuring PubMatic’s customers make the most of both the onsite and offsite opportunities through our Convert product.”

Based in Sydney, Barry will report directly to Jason Barnes, chief revenue officer, APAC.

Barnes also adds: “We’re delighted to see Peter return to APAC following his time in New York. His wealth of experience is invaluable and I look forward to seeing how his expertise impacts our ever-expanding commerce media offering in the region.”

Coto Communities for Women welcomes Ankhi Das as their strategic advisor

Coto, the social community platform exclusively designed for women, has appointed Ankhi Das as their community advisor for their diverse communities of KOLs and influencers. In this role, Das will bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise in various fields, including business, mental health, finance, and healthcare to further coto’s ethos of sisterhood and women empowerment.

Das is a tech investor and a seasoned public policy expert with extensive knowledge and expertise in the technology sector. For nearly a decade, she held the role of Facebook's public policy leader for India and South and Central Asia, where she spearheaded one of the largest policy teams in the regional tech sector. Her strategic leadership played a pivotal role in advancing the company's growth objectives, contributing significantly to the expansion of the Facebook family of apps in India from 8 million users in 2011 to over 450 million users by 2020. Before her tenure at Facebook, Ankhi Das enjoyed a distinguished career at Microsoft, where she assumed diverse roles, including serving as the Policy Director and Head of Corporate Citizenship for the company in India.

Commenting on the new onboarding, Aparna Acharekar, co-Founder, coto says, "As a creative women-only platform, we are thrilled to welcome Ankhi Das to the coto team. Her expertise in advancing women's causes and her commitment to fostering safe and supportive online communities make her an invaluable addition to our team. With Ankhi's leadership, we look forward to empowering women worldwide through coto's ever-evolving platform. Her passion, personality, and thoughts will help us curate high-quality content to empower and educate women about various topics. I am confident their contributions will inspire and encourage women and build a truly empowered digital ecosystem."

As a technology executive with over twenty years of operating and leadership experience, Das enjoys working at the intersection of tech policy, consumer markets, and entrepreneurship development. 

Expressing her excitement, Das shares, "I am delighted to be part of a platform that prioritises the voices and experiences of women. coto's dedication to creating a safe, inclusive, and empowering space matches my values. By joining the platform’s Community Advisory Board, I look forward to contributing to inspiring women to achieve their best, have faith in their capabilities, and pursue the unique paths they are drawn to. I'm certain that we'll cultivate a supportive community of women creators brimming with innovative ideas for becoming digital entrepreneurs. I am confident coto’s mission of connecting and empowering women economically will strengthen both the sisterhood economy and our community of women."