Modern Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) operate at the intersection of shifting consumer behaviors, technological progress, economic uncertainty, and a more divided social climate. This multifaceted environment requires rethinking conventional marketing approaches and responsibilities, compelling CMOs to evolve, create new solutions, and demonstrate leadership through adaptability and foresight.

With marketing becoming more dependent on data analysis for decision-making and proving return on investment, CMOs are working more collaboratively with CEOs and other senior executives to integrate marketing initiatives with broader corporate goals. This shift highlights that the CMO serves not merely as head of the marketing department but as a crucial catalyst for organizational expansion, necessitating a combination of current marketing knowledge, analytical skills, technological expertise, and strategic thinking to participate meaningfully in high-level corporate conversations and choices. Let’s learn more about the five leading CMO appointments that occurred in August 2025.

Nischala Murthy Kaushik Joins Opus as Chief Marketing Officer

Opus onboarded  Nischala Murthy Kaushik as their new Chief Marketing Officer. Nischala comes with almost 25 years of experience working around the world in strategy, tech, and marketing. She's known for being a growth-focused leader who's really good at building up marketing teams from scratch and helping them grow across all kinds of different companies. Before joining Opus, she was the CMO at Fresh Gravity and HFS Research, where she handled everything from rebranding efforts and telling the company's story to generating leads, account-based marketing, establishing thought leadership, and working with industry analysts.

She started out as a tech person, creating solutions for big-name clients like HSBC, MasterCard, Charles Schwab, and Credit Suisse. Throughout her career, she's also been involved in driving innovation within companies and developing strategic marketing approaches for new services and growth projects. What really gets Kaushik excited is marketing that uses AI, focuses on great design, and tells compelling stories. She's bringing this unique mix of tech know-how and strategic thinking to her new position at Opus.

Amazon India Names Anuradha Aggarwal as Director

Amazon India has promoted Anuradha Aggarwal to director, putting her in charge of marketing and growth for the company's operations in India. She'll now be handling brand strategy, getting customers more engaged, and boosting Amazon's growth initiatives throughout the country. Anuradha came on board with Amazon Pay back in April 2022 as director of user growth and CMO, where she really helped grow the customer base and get people more involved with the payments side of things.

Before joining Amazon, Anuradha was running the English, Infotainment and Kids division at Disney-Star India until the end of 2020.

 

From 2015 to 2018, she worked as chief marketing officer at Marico, where she led some really successful brand campaigns and digital projects.

She's also worked in top marketing roles at Mondelez International, handling biscuits marketing across Asia Pacific, and at Vodafone, where she oversaw brand communications, insights, and online strategies. She actually started out her career way back in 1997 at Hindustan Unilever as an area sales manager.

On top of her corporate work, Anuradha spent some time between 2020 and 2022 helping out direct-to-consumer startups as a business advisor, giving guidance to new brands trying to grow their businesses. She's got solid educational credentials too, with an MBA from IIM Bangalore and a bachelor's degree in Economics from Sri Ram College of Commerce at Delhi University.

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Castrol India's Rohit Talwar joins JSW Paints as CMO

JSW Paints brought on Rohit Talwar as their new Chief Marketing Officer, which is a pretty big deal as they're really pushing to build up their brand. Talwar just left his role as VP and Head of Marketing for India and South Asia at Castrol India, wrapping up an impressive 21-year run with the company.

He started out at Castrol back in 2004 as a Management Trainee and worked his way up through various positions like Sales Manager, Bikes Brand Manager, Cricket Sponsorship Activation Manager, and Global Brand Manager for Castrol VECTON. From 2019, he spent some time in Vietnam where he handled both consumer and business marketing, helping drive solid growth and getting the brand out there more.

Talwar came back to India at the end of 2023 to take over Castrol's marketing operations, taking over from Jaya Jamrani. He officially resigned in June 2025 and his final day was in August. While he was there, he picked up some nice recognition including the CMO Leadership Award at the Pitch CMO Summit and made it onto BW Businessworld's list of India's Top 100 Marketers.

His switch to JSW Paints happens at a time when the brand is really picking up steam with campaigns like 'Budget Kam, Warranty Mein Dum'. People in the industry are calling Talwar's hiring a smart move, pointing to how well he combines tech-focused marketing with genuine storytelling.

Also Read: April 2025 CXO Appointments Synopsis

Akasa Air Appoints Naarayan T V as its Chief Marketing Officer

India's fastest-growing airline, Akasa Air, has brought on Mr. Naarayan T V as their new Chief Marketing Officer starting August 29, 2025. He'll be taking charge of marketing, corporate communications and ESG, customer experience, eCommerce, customer loyalty, and partnerships. Plus, he'll be joining Akasa's Executive Committee.

This hiring fits right into Akasa Air's rapid expansion plans as they work on building up their brand and making things better for customers. They're aiming to crack the top 30 airlines worldwide by 2030.

Naarayan's got more than 20 years under his belt working across different industries like eCommerce, fintech, banking, direct-to-consumer trading, and big global brands. He's bringing a solid mix of strategic thinking, digital know-how, and a real focus on putting customers first. Throughout his career, he's been the driving force behind major transformations at leading brands both in India and internationally. His work covers everything from marketing campaigns and digital marketing to market research, product design, user experience, customer acquisition, sponsorships, brand development, creative planning, content marketing, and rolling out big product launches across all kinds of advertising channels.

Randstad India Appoints Cauvery Uthappa As Chief Marketing Officer

Randstad India has boosted its leadership team by bringing on Cauvery Uthappa as their new Chief Marketing Officer. Cauvery brings 20 years of hands-on experience in marketing, strategy, and business transformation, and she's set to be a key player in driving the company's upcoming growth phase. In this role, she'll be taking charge of creating and executing Randstad India's marketing strategy, making sure it aligns with broader regional goals while staying sharp on local implementation. She'll be focusing on leveraging digital technologies, adopting an AI-driven marketing mindset, and strengthening relationships with both clients and talent pools.

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Before coming to Randstad, Cauvery worked in leadership positions at companies like Adecco, TeamLease Services, Atos, Siemens, HP, and ESPN Star Sports. Through these roles, she picked up extensive experience in sales, data analytics, business transformation, and comprehensive market strategies. She earned her PGDBM from Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies and has a Master's in English Literature from the University of Mysore.