MUMBAI: YouTube has picked a heavyweight to steer its India ambitions. Gunjan Soni, the former Zalora chief executive and Myntra marketing whiz, has been named country managing director, YouTube India — in a move that underlines the platform’s laser focus on India’s booming creator economy.

Announcing the appointment, YouTube Asia Pacific vice-president and managing director Gautam Anand  hailed India as one of YouTube’s "most vibrant and crucial markets", adding that Soni’s arrival signals an even stronger commitment to creators, users, and India's digital future.

With over two decades of leadership experience across e-commerce, tech, consulting, and media, Soni brings heavyweight credentials. Her CV reads like a greatest hits album: she led the turnaround of Jabong under Myntra, turbocharged Zalora’s regional expansion in southeast Asia, helped launch Hotstar at Star India, and pioneered data-led marketing at McKinsey.

Fortune 40 under 40 honouree and board member at CBRE group, Soni is no stranger to building brands at scale — nor to nurturing ecosystems where creativity and commerce collide.

Now based in Mumbai, Soni’s new playbook for YouTube India is packed with ambition: strengthening the creator economy, expanding shopping and video commerce, growing shorts and connected TV, and deepening user engagement across generations. In her own words, the goal is to "unlock intuitive, innovative formats" that empower Indian storytellers — from school kids shooting shorts to grandparents binge-watching devotional channels.

“As a family of enthusiastic YouTube users ourselves — from my seven-year-old nephew to my 70-something mother — I’m truly excited to lead a platform that touches lives across generations,” said Soni in a spirited note to the community.