Board Member Category: Adtech Track
Prabhakar Tiwari
Julian Fernando
Shalini Poddar
Shalini is Head of Ads for Disney+ Hotstar in India. As part of her profile, she is responsible for delivering Ad Revenue for Disney+ Hotstar which includes Sales, Agency Partnerships, Strategy, Measurement and Ad Tech Solutions, CreativeWorks as well as Ad Operations.
Shalini comes with strong leadership experience of running ads businesses of tremendous scale, and shaping transformational partnerships and product interventions. Prior to joining Disney+ Hotstar, Shalini worked with Google for over 8 years. In her last stint, she was the head of business development for Google Play Apps for India, South East Asia and Australia. As India country head for Google App Ads, she delivered the largest turnarounds with triple digit growth, and led one of the largest ad transformations globally, migrating billions of app promo ads revenue to an automated Ad platform. Before joining Google, Shalini worked with Accenture Consulting for 8 years and has led multiple client engagements across sectors.
An executive sponsor for People and Development agendas at both Accenture and Google, Shalini has built several high-performing teams and is an active coach herself. She holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA) in Marketing and Finance from Indian Institute of Management Calcutta.
Udit Verma
A technology expert with a penchant for developing unique tech-enabled solutions for businesses, Udit Verma is the Co-Founder of Trackier, a SAAS-based Attribution tracking and partner management platform that allows brands effectively manage and track their online ad campaigns. At a young age, Udit has already founded two tech-based ventures and has mastered an array of specialist abilities in business management including advertising, marketing, brand development, business development as well as operations management.
Shilpa Desai
Shilpa Desai is the EVP & Head of Marketing for HDFC ERGO. In her present role, she is responsible for defining and driving the brand strategy and roadmap for the Company, while supporting business initiatives through marketing and communications. Her key strength lies in driving strategic brand and marketing programs, with a deep understanding of digital technologies and evolving customer behavior.
Shilpa brings to the table an experience of 18+ years across manufacturing, product management and service organizations, including an extensive experience in the BFSI sector.
During her previous stints, she has held leadership roles in Marketing and Digital Business and has been a key driver in developing and repositioning Marcom strategies for brands like ICICI Bank, IDFC Bank and Fullerton India Credit Company Limited.
Shilpa is an Engineer graduate and holds an MBA degree in Marketing. Currently, she is also pursuing her PhD in Management from IIT Bombay.
Gavin Buxton
Monaz Todywalla
Monaz Todywalla is the Chief Executive Officer at PHD Media India, where she leads a team of highly engaged and creative media experts, delivering disruptive and forward-leaning solutions for the business needs of the agency's diverse roster of
clients, helping them Make the Leap.
With over two decades of experience across media, marketing and communications, Monaz is an inspiring leader with an in-depth understanding of business, strategy, media planning and buying, analytics and market research.
Over the years, she has lent her knowledge across various roles at Wavemaker, Madison Communications and Lodestar. With expertise in mentoring cross-functional regional teams and assimilating learnings, she has diverse exposure across industries like FMCG, Telecom, BFSI and Retail, among others.
Monaz aims to create an inclusive work environment that is driven by results. Striving to deliver greater value to clients than just the required business KPIs, she has also been at the forefront of innovative campaigns for renowned brands such as L’Oréal, Vodafone, Kotak, Abbott Nutrition, HDFC Life, Starbucks, Tata Cliq, Asian Paints, MDLZ, Amul, and Marico.
With a number of distinctive accolades to her credit, some of the more recent recognitions include ‘Impact 50 Most Influential Women 2022’, BW Businessworld's '20 Most Influential Women' (2022) and 'Top 40 under 40’ by IMPACT (2017).
Sumeet Singh
Sumeet Singh is the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of Info Edge, a seasoned marketing leader with over two decades of experience in brand building, digital marketing, and data-driven strategies.
As a key member of Info Edge’s executive leadership team, she oversees marketing across flagship businesses like Naukri, 99acres, Jeevansathi, and Shiksha. Her role encompasses branding, martech, strategic insights, digital marketing strategies and corporate communication.
Her strategic vision, innovative marketing approach, and commitment to fostering a collaborative work culture make her a pivotal figure in the industry.
She is also a pioneer in performance marketing and predictive analytics, having embraced data-led marketing as early as 2005. Under her leadership, Info Edge has seen some of India’s most iconic campaigns, including the unforgettable Hari Sadu ad to the more recent Fan-in-Chief for Naukri – setting an incomparable benchmark in employer branding.
Beyond her corporate achievements, Sumeet is a recognized thought leader at the intersection of marketing and technology, frequently featured among India’s most influential marketing professionals. Recently, she was honored by IMPACT’s Top 50 Most Influential Women, awarded the Storyboard18 Visionaries honor, and named as one of BusinessWorld Marketing World’s Most Influential Women of 2025.
She also keenly mentors and guides women entrepreneurs and professionals, helping them navigate leadership and growth challenges. Outside of work, she is a mother of two and enjoys traveling, cooking, music, and spending time with her pets.
