LinkedIn's Nishant Rao takes over as IAMAI chairman

Vinodh Bhat, co-founder and president, Saavn, is the new vice-chairman, and Kunal Shah, founder, FreeCharge, has been elected as the new treasurer.

Nishant Rao, country manager, LinkedIn, is the new chairman of the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI). Rao would be taking over from Rajan Anandan, managing director, Google India.

The new team was announced at the 11th annual general meeting of IAMAI held on May 8, 2015.

Rao takes over at a time when the industry is going through a growth trajectory with more than 300 million internet users and more than 200 million mobile internet users. On his appointment, Rao says, "This is an exciting phase in the growth story of internet in India. The digital industry is growing steadfastly and with that we now have regulatory and policy issues cropping up. IAMAI has been working persistently towards the growth of the medium and is also working with all stakeholders to create a conducive digital ecosystem. It is our vision to work closely with the government, agencies and members to ensure a healthy growth and functioning of the digital ecosystem."

Vinodh Bhat, co-founder and president, Saavn, is the new vice-chairman who will take over from Kirthiga Reddy, managing director, Facebook India. Kunal Shah, founder, FreeCharge, has been elected as the new treasurer.

IAMAI was established in 2004. In the last 11 years, it has been addressing the challenges facing the digital and online industry including mobile content and services, online publishing, mobile advertising, online advertising, e-commerce and mobile and digital payments, among others. It claims to have 190+ Indian and multi-national corporations as its members.