Shagun Seda to Join Apple India as Head of Marketing and Communications

In one of the more significant C-level shuffle in India's media and marketing world this week, Shagun Seda is set to join Apple India as Head of Marketing Communications. The appointment was confirmed by Exchange4Media on April 15, citing industry sources familiar with the development.

Shagun Seda is a well-known figure in India's marketing and brand strategy ecosystem. Most recently, she was Head of Brand Strategy, Marketing Communications and Talent for JioStar — the entity formed through the merger of Viacom18 and Star India — where she oversaw some of the biggest marketing campaigns in Indian sports and entertainment history, including those around the Indian Premier League and the ICC Men's T20 World Cup.

Apple had been actively searching for this role for at least a year. A job listing published in mid-2025 by Apple India for the Head of Marketing Communications position specified a candidate with "over 15 years of experience in global organisations or creative agencies and at least five years of experience managing marketing communications teams." Seda exceeds those requirements comfortably.

Her appointment is significant beyond just a personnel change. Apple is at an inflection point in India. The company opened its first two retail stores in Mumbai and Delhi in 2023, has been steadily expanding its manufacturing presence through partners like Foxconn and Tata, and is targeting India as a critical growth engine amid supply chain diversification away from China. Marketing muscle — the ability to connect Apple's brand identity to India's distinct consumer culture — has never mattered more.

At JioStar, Seda's most visible work came through the IPL. She was part of the team that drove the creative direction for JioHotstar's IPL campaigns, including the platform's partnership with OpenAI and ChatGPT as co-presenting partner for the T20 World Cup. Before that, at Netflix India, she was responsible for some of the streamer's most talked-about local content marketing campaigns during its formative years in the market.

Apple has not issued an official statement on the appointment as of the time of writing. Neither the company nor Seda has confirmed a start date. But multiple industry sources cited by Exchange4Media characterize the move as confirmed, with onboarding expected in the near term.

Her arrival at Apple India will be watched closely. The brand has historically maintained a tight, globally coordinated marketing approach in India, which has sometimes come at the cost of local cultural resonance. Someone with Seda's deep roots in Indian entertainment, sports IP, and streaming — segments where marketing must work on instinct and local emotion, not just global brand playbooks — brings a notably different profile to the job.