MUMBAI — Chief operating officer Roger Darashah and strategic communications SVP Boby Kurian will both leave Adfactors at the end of this year, co-founder and MD Madan Bahal announced yesterday.

Darashah (pictured) departs after more than four years with India's largest PR firm, where he was the first senior expat hire. After previously working across India, Europe and Brazil with Edelman, he is expected to launch his own PR consultancy from Portugal.

At Adfactors, Darashah was initially charged with overseeing global expansion before taking on responsibility for the agency's emerging tech practice. He will continue to counsel some Adfactors clients, said Bahal (pictured).

"In his four years at Adfactors PR, Roger did some outstanding work in enhancing proactivity at the grassroots level, and creativity at a strategic level," said Bahal. 

Kurian, meanwhile, is to join Softbank India as communications director, following the exit of Softbank Asia communications head Paroma Roy Choudury. The former national corporate editor at the Times of India joined Adfactors in mid-2019. 

"He is drawn to Softbank to fulfil his aspiration – as he says – to work at the intersection of technology, private capital and policy," said Bahal.