SMS GupShup Expands Its Leadership Team, Announces Hiring of Vishal Nongbet and Vikram Thukral

Pair of seasoned execs bring a combined 40 years of experience from brands such as Pepsi, Kodak, News Corp




Santa Clara, CA / Mumbai, India (June 2, 2010) SMS GupShup, the world’s largest mobile social network, with over 30 million users, announces the addition of two senior executives: Vishal Nongbet as Senior Director and Head of Marketing, and Vikram Thukral as Vice President of Media Sales. The two bring four decades of marketing and sales experience, as well as expertise in media and entertainment.



Vishal Nongbet brings 12 years of varied experience in lifestyle products, largely in the fields of consumer goods and media & entertainment. After graduating from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Vishal started his career with Pepsi, followed by a senior marketing position at Times Music, and then Kodak where he was instrumental in growing their fledgling digital businesses into a $30 million business. Most recently, he served as Head of Marketing and Alliances at Mumbai Mantra, the film production and distribution start-up of the Mahindra group.



“SMS GupShup is on the frontline of creating the first digital connections for millions of people in Asia. The company’s rapid growth by the millions every month has an enormous potential to change the way the world communicates.” says Nongbet.



In his new role as Vice President of Media Sales, Vikram Thukral is responsible for sales of media and social CRM properties to brand marketers and advertising agencies. Vikram brings 28 years of management experience in the areas of sales, distribution, product management, business development and strategy. He has held positions such as VP and Head of Distribution at Bennett, Coleman & Co., as well as VP of Star TV in India, a division of News Corporation.



Vikram shares his enthusiasm for joining the executive team for the popular social network: “It’s fantastic to be part of a fast-growing, fast-paced company. My experience has prepared me well to deliver quality results in the area of media sales as we look to increase reach and revenue-generating avenues.”



SMS GupShup CEO Beerud Sheth expresses support of his new team: “As we grow larger and expand into the Philippines and other areas, we need competent, dedicated and creative leaders to build upon the strength of our existing team,” says Sheth. “I have great faith in the latest additions to our team; their proven track record for success will further SMS GupShup’s growth and position us well to accelerate our pace of innovation.”



To learn more about SMS GupShup, visit: http://www.smsgupshup.com/



About SMS GupShup


SMS GupShup is the world’s largest social SMS service that allows users to communicate and connect with family, friends and fans using mobile handsets. SMS GupShup extends the capabilities of p2p sms technology to social messaging including 1-to-many, many-to-many and many-to-1 communication, thereby enabling social interactions on sms, the only medium that reaches 4 billion users worldwide. Launched in April 2007, it is used by 26 million users in over 2 million communities.



Brands and enterprises use the SMS GupShup platform for their mobile marketing needs including advertising and customer engagement. Carriers use the reply-all capability of SMS GupShup to increase ARPU and loyalty of their subscriber base. SMS GupShup also sells premium content and services to consumers.



Founded by seasoned Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and incubated at the IIT Bombay Business Incubator, the company is funded by Charles River Ventures, Helion Ventures and Globespan Capital. To know more details visit www.smsgupshup.com.



For more information please contact:

Rachael Himsel/ VSC Consulting PR for SMS GupShup

rachael@vscconsulting.com

415.677.9125 x 257

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Rachael Himsel

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