Hires & Promotions: Marico, Microsoft, Gozoop, Perfetti Van Melle

Marico ropes in Tata Neu's Akash Banerji

Marico has appointed Akash Banerji as executive vice president – premium personal care, media and digital transformation.

Before this, Akash Banerji was heading Tata Neu’s content and entertainment vertical. He joined Tata Neu in April 2022.

Before Tata Neu, Banerji was heading the marketing-mobile business at Amazon.

He was also with Viacom18's Voot for five years and also with Star India.

Microsoft onboards Mustafa Suleyman as CEO - Microsoft AI

Mustafa Suleyman has joined Microsoft as CEO of Microsoft AI. He confirmed the news on LinkedIn. In his new role, he will be leading all consumer AI products and research, including Copilot, Bing and Edge. Before this, Mustafa Suleyman was with Greylock as Venture Partner.

“I’m excited to announce that today I’m joining Microsoft as CEO of Microsoft AI. I’ll be leading all consumer AI products and research, including Copilot, Bing and Edge. My friend and longtime collaborator Karén Simonyan will be Chief Scientist, and several of our amazing teammates have chosen to join us”, he states in his LinkedIn post.

“@InflectionAI will continue on its mission under a new CEO, and look to reach more people than ever by making its API widely available to developers and businesses the world over”, he adds.

In his previous stints, he has worked with The Economist, Infectious AI, Google, Reos Partners among others.

Suleyman brings 15 years of experience as an entrepreneur, technologist and leader in artificial intelligence. He is a senior fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Gozoop Group appoints Priyanka Sharma as group director

Gozoop Group has named Priyanka Sharma as group director - brand communications.

Based out of the group’s Mumbai headquarters, Priyanka Sharma will report to Mohit Ahuja, president, Gozoop Group.

In her new stint, she will be managing a cluster of brands across sectors like Dell, Tim Hortons, Paytm Money, Love Depot, DBS Bank etc.

Before her appointment at Gozoop Group, she was associated with Mirum India as group head.

Commenting on her appointment, Sharma says, “At GOZOOP, I resonate with their spirit of doing outstanding work and helping our clients achieve extraordinary success in their journeys. I am ecstatic to kickstart my journey here at GOZOOP and work in collaboration with exceptional minds of industry and experience the flourishing culture, which is sure to further fuel my passion for advertising.”

“The right people are our biggest assets. Priyanka comes up with the experience, hunger and most importantly value system that resonates with the GOZOOP culture. She will be helping us deepen relationships with some of our key clients and as a derivative produce a body of work that enhances our creative capabilities. We look forward to #BreakTheBox with Priyanka,” shares Rohan Bhansali, chairman and co-founder, Gozoop Group.

Perfetti Van Melle Appoints Gaurav Soni As Head of Media

Perfetti Van Melle appoints Gaurav Soni as their new Head of Media. Before joining Perfetti Van Melle, Soni served as the Head of Media at Domino's for a successful tenure of two years. Prior to that, he played a crucial role in shaping the media landscape at Samsung Electronics for India and SAARC regions, where he led the Media & Partnerships division.

With a career spanning over 14 years, Soni has amassed a diverse range of experiences, including his stint as the Media Director at Mindshare GroupM from 2015 to 2017. His expertise encompasses a broad spectrum of industries, including OEM (Handset, Consumer Durables), FMCG, QSR, Telecom, and Media Services.