SugarBox strengthens leadership team with two new appointments

SugarBox, India’s first homegrown Hyperlocal CDN (Content Delivery Network), has announced the appointment of two senior management members, Tapan Jindal as Finance Head and Sarthak Batra as Director of Design. In their new roles, Tapan will be responsible for heading the finance team and look largely into legal, secretarial and supply chain function. On the other hand, Sarthak who brings with him design experience, will be looking into the strategic designing and managing and building team capability.

SugarBox, that was started in 2017 by Rohit Paranjpe and Ripunjay Bararia, aims to solve the problem of availability and reliability of internet connectivity – for everyone, everywhere. It acts as the pioneer in ‘on the go’ services that are transforming consumer experience. It solves the problem of buffering content which results in an uninterrupted experience while travelling. At a time when internet connectivity is patchy and unreliable, SugarBox offers a seamless app experience to users at a SugarBox zone. SugarBox is present across pilot deployments in 9 cities and 250 Places of Interest (POIs). They are offering the services to various POIs in cities such as Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai. The company is looking to spanning their network to Delhi, Kolkata, and other cities in the next 2 years. Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) owns 80% equity stake in SugarBox since its inception and in 2020, they have made an announcement of investing Rs. 522 crores in SugarBox.

Tapan Jindal, Finance Head, SugarBox brings with him more than 15 years of vast experience in corporate finance and investment banking. At SugarBox, he will be responsible into looking after all the financial decisions of the company. His role will also require him to oversee the legal, secretarial and supply chain management functions at SugarBox. Prior to this, Tapan was the Chief Finance Officer at Baazi Games. His past experiences include working with leading companies such as CarDekho, Fidelity, iGate and Moody’s. Tapan is a Chartered Accountant and has completed his bachelor’s degree from Panjab University (PU).

Sarthak Batra, Director of Design, SugarBox has extensive knowledge of Product design, Visual communication & Brand design in his career graph spanning 10 years. His most recent stint was with Livspace home interiors Pvt. Ltd. as a Product design lead. He had also co-founded a health-tech startup called Healthmonk in 2016.  Sarthak focuses on being involved in envisioning digital products & design strategy, leading design teams from product inception, research, build end to end design, testing & ensures design launches with a user-centric mindset. At SugarBox, he will be responsible for design strategy, building team capabilities, process and management & driving overall design vision. Some of his past noteworthy works comprise Manipal University websites, Hyatt hotels web & mobile experience, Flipkart marketplace and Geobrowse, Walmart Mexico's Scan & Go self-checkout, Livspace’s interior design software suites. He has a strong background in applied arts and visual communication.

Speaking about the new members in the organization, SugarBox’s Co-founder and CEO, Rohit Paranjpe, said, “At the start of this new year, it is my pleasure to welcome Sarthak and Tapan into our fold and I’m grateful for the experiences that they bring. We look forward to capitalising their unique professional backgrounds and expertise. SugarBox is at an exciting and critical juncture at this moment and I am most proud of the team and culture that our company has built and remain fully committed to the vision. We have a multi-billion-dollar revenue opportunity in front of us and for that we need to hire people with skill-sets that will enable us to realize our vision. We have exciting plans to develop the business as we begin our association with Indian Railways this year and fortifying our leadership will play a pivotal role in shaping our future.”

“I am delighted to be part of this exciting and high-performing team at SugarBox. I look forward to being part of this digital transformation in the Indian landscape”, said Tapan Jindal on his new role.

“I look forward to being part of this disrupting organization. The vibe here is upbeat and infectious. I hope to contribute more to the growth of SugarBox”, said Sarthak Batra on his appointment.