Punitha Arumugam joins Hotstar as Platform Evangelist

Previously Arumugam worked with Google as agency director.

In a recent announcement, Hotstar has appointed Punitha Arumugam as platform evangelist. She will be operating from Mumbai in her new role at Hotstar.

Arumugam, a media agency veteran, best known for her leadership at Madison Media as group CEO for over 13 years, and at Google as agency director for over five years, is seen as a leader who shaped many agencies’ and marketers’ increasing use of digital platforms for brand building. Before this role, she was at Google where she led the organisation’s agency business, first from India and later for the region from Singapore, as managing director, APAC Agency for Google APAC. She is currently setting up her own firm in the communications tech space.

Commenting on the development, Ajit Mohan, CEO, Hotstar, says in a press release, “Punitha is a leader in digital who has a fantastic track record of having aided the creation of many agency and brand partnerships in India and around the region. Hotstar is a special place for brands. We are delighted that she is coming on board to help us introduce the unique power of Hotstar to marketers around the country.”

Commenting on her appointment, Arumugam, says in a press release, “Hotstar is one of the few video platforms in the world that has tremendous scale, very engaged audiences and remains open to advertisers. I believe the world of marketing is evolving quite rapidly, and Hotstar has the unique ability to marry the scale and engagement of television, with the power of audience understanding that digital brings. This is what brands have been waiting for, and I am delighted to play a role in shaping the next phase of the industry’s evolution.”

Arumugam’s career spans over 20 years of media. She is widely acknowledged as the driving force behind Madison’s transformation to the second largest media agency in India and is credited for building a buoyant agency business for Google in India and Asia Pacific.