Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd. (BCCL) has appointed industry veteran Nonita Kalra as Chief Creative Officer – Luxury, Fashion & Lifestyle, in a move designed to accelerate the company's push into premium content, experiential programming and strategic brand collaborations.
New role to shape creative vision across major platforms
Kalra will oversee the creative direction for BCCL’s luxury and lifestyle portfolio, working across print, digital and live experiences. Her remit includes developing new content franchises and intellectual properties for leading company brands and services, and taking charge of marquee events, awards and exhibitions intended to engage affluent and culturally curious audiences.
Her responsibilities will span numerous BCCL divisions and platforms, with the brief to knit editorial and commercial activity more closely together. The post will see Kalra liaise with editorial teams as well as the company’s commercial arms, including its media services and events operations, to build integrated creative initiatives and partnerships with luxury houses and cultural organisations.
Experience in luxury publishing and cultural programming
Kalra joins BCCL with more than three decades of experience in luxury and lifestyle journalism and brand storytelling. She was most recently Editor-in-Chief at Tata CLiQ Luxury and previously held senior editing positions at several national and international titles, where she helped define premium lifestyle coverage in India.
A graduate in History (Honours) from St Stephen’s College, University of Delhi, her career has included roles at prominent news and fashion outlets. This background gives her direct experience in both editorial leadership and the commercial side of high-end media — skills BCCL has identified as central to its next phase of growth.
| Company platforms | Areas of focus |
|---|---|
| The Times of India (TOI) | Editorial and premium content franchises |
| The Times Internet Media Services (TIMS), OMS, 1838 | Digital reach, media solutions and events |
- Content development: building high-impact luxury and lifestyle franchises across print and digital.
- Experiential initiatives: producing awards, festivals and exhibitions to increase audience engagement.
- Strategic partnerships: collaborating with luxury brands, cultural institutions and creators.
Why this matters
For BCCL, one of India’s largest media groups, the hire signals a sharpened focus on premium audiences and monetisable experiential offerings at a time when media companies globally are seeking diversified revenue streams beyond advertising. By placing an experienced luxury publishing executive in charge of creative strategy, BCCL is betting on branded content, events and partnerships to deepen audience loyalty and open new commercial opportunities.
For the luxury and cultural sectors, the appointment may increase the scale and visibility of lifestyle programming across a range of platforms, from glossy editorial packages to on-the-ground festivals and awards. Such initiatives can stimulate collaboration between media and brand partners while offering creators and cultural institutions larger stages for their work.
Kalra’s role will require balancing editorial standards with commercial aims — a familiar tension in lifestyle media — as she seeks to create work that resonates with discerning readers while delivering measurable value to sponsors and partners. How she navigates that balance will shape the tone and reach of BCCL’s premium offerings in the coming years.
Her appointment follows a broader industry trend in which legacy publishers reposition themselves as multi-platform experience companies, combining journalism with events and branded content to secure new income streams and strengthen brand equity.
As BCCL implements its plan, observers will be watching for announcements of new festivals, awards and flagship projects that demonstrate how editorial vision and commercial strategy are being integrated under Kalra’s stewardship.
