Manohar Ashwath is a seasoned professional with a remarkable career spanning over two decades in the telecommunications, cable, and media industries. As a Segment Leader – Media, Entertainment, Publishing & Communications, he has demonstrated exceptional leadership and expertise in driving innovation and strategic growth. His journey includes impactful roles at Genpact, Fidelity and Molex, showcasing his ability to lead technology-driven transformations and deliver results. Manohar’s dedication to excellence and his ability to navigate complex challenges make him a standout leader in his field.
A Journey Driven by Passion
Manohar’s professional journey has been shaped by a deep passion for storytelling, technology, and transformation. From his early days as a hands-on technologist to now leading a global vertical, he has always gravitated towards industries that are constantly evolving, constantly creative, and deeply connected to people’s lives. The Media, Telco, and Entertainment industries are not just about content or connectivity — they are about culture, emotion, and human experience. What inspired him to stay in this space is the opportunity to shape the way people live, work, and engage — whether it’s a studio executive looking to monetize content across platforms, a telco transforming into techno, or a digital publisher building the next-gen newsroom.
“Over the years, I’ve been fortunate to lead large global teams, launch industry-first platforms, and serve some of the most iconic brands. Along the way, I’ve embraced change, built lasting partnerships, and stayed curious. My journey so far? It’s been energizing, humbling, and filled with purpose. And I feel like I’m just getting started,” says Manohar.
A Leadership Approach Shaped by Experience
Early in his career, Manohar led with structure and precision — focusing on delivery excellence, KPIs, and operational outcomes. As he progressed, he realized that transformation isn’t just about better execution — it’s about inspiring belief. So, his leadership evolved from being directive to being empowering. Today, he leads with purpose, vision, and inclusion. He invests deeply in his teams — in building trust, psychological safety, and a culture of ownership.
Manohar has also learned the value of adaptability. In industries where the playbook changes every quarter, the ability to listen, learn, pivot, and still lead with clarity is critical. “At the core, my leadership is now about enabling others to lead — giving people room to grow, challenge assumptions, and co-create the future,” he says.
The Seismic Shift in the Industry
As an industry veteran, Manohar points out that over the last two decades, these industries have been transformed by three monumental shifts that continue to shape their future:
1. The Digital Revolution and Direct-to-Consumer Models: The emergence of streaming services, OTT platforms, and creator-driven channels has disrupted traditional hierarchies and empowered audiences. Media consumption is now a deeply personalized experience—on-demand, algorithmically tailored, and accessible at the tap of a finger.
2. Data-Powered Personalization: The proliferation of data has changed everything. From tracking content engagement to gauging audience sentiment, companies now have unprecedented insight into user behaviors. The real winners are those who can translate this wealth of data into dynamic, real-time, hyper-personalized experiences that resonate with individual preferences.
3. Industry Convergence: The once-distinct boundaries between media, telecommunications, technology, and commerce are dissolving. Telcos are evolving into content creators. Media companies are building tech ecosystems. The lines of competition have become fluid, ushering in unexpected challenges and redefining collaboration opportunities.
“These seismic shifts have not only revolutionized the way we define value, growth, and innovation—they’ve accelerated the pace of change itself, leaving us to continuously adapt and innovate to stay ahead in this new landscape,” says Manohar.
Overcoming Challenges
One of the biggest challenges for Manohar over the years has been driving large-scale transformation in legacy-driven organizations. Often, there’s a strong attachment to ‘what worked before.’ Shifting mindsets, not just tools, is the real work.
To overcome this, he focused on building trust early — by listening, showing quick wins, and co-creating the journey with stakeholders. He also invested in education — demystifying AI, cloud, or automation through workshops and real-world examples. And most importantly, he led with empathy. Change is personal. When people feel heard and supported, resistance turns into resilience.
Inspiring the Team
To inspire his team and foster innovation, Manohar focuses on three key pillars—clarity, autonomy, and celebration—because they form the foundation of a motivated and high-performing team:
1. Clarity: He believes that people thrive when they understand where they’re heading and why it matters. Sharing a compelling vision and aligning goals empowers teams to see the bigger picture and feel connected to a mission that resonates beyond day-to-day tasks.
2. Autonomy: Creativity flourishes in an environment of trust. He encourages his teams to take ownership of the “how”—to think boldly, experiment freely, and challenge conventional wisdom. This autonomy fuels their confidence and inspires innovative approaches.
3. Celebration: Progress deserves recognition, whether it’s the smallest breakthrough or a collaborative milestone. By celebrating effort, ingenuity, and teamwork, we create a culture of appreciation that drives sustained energy and motivation.
Additionally, Manohar actively involves clients in their innovation journey through co-creation workshops, immersion sessions, and rapid prototyping. When his team sees their ideas transform into tangible solutions that drive real impact for clients, it’s more than rewarding—it’s deeply inspiring. At that point, the work becomes a shared mission, igniting passion and purpose for everyone involved.
Balancing Creativity with Data-Driven Objectives
Creativity and data, explains Manohar, aren’t opposites — they’re partners. In the Media, Telco, and Entertainment space, the magic happens when we blend gut and guidance — intuition with insight.
To nurture creativity, he empowers his teams with the freedom to experiment, embrace failure as a stepping stone, and co-create solutions alongside clients. This environment encourages bold ideas and innovative thinking. However, he doesn’t let creativity drift without direction—every experiment is rooted in clear, measurable outcomes such as audience engagement, monetization, or operational efficiency.
A key strategy Manohar relies on is hypothesis-driven innovation. He encourages blue-sky ideas but anchors them to testable assumptions. By closely tracking performance, iterating quickly, and allowing data to inform scaling decisions, his team ensures that innovation isn’t just imaginative—it’s impactful. This harmony between bold creativity and accountable decision-making drives sustainable progress and measurable success.
An Integration Shaping the Industry
Manohar believes we’re entering a Golden Age of Intelligent Media and Telco — powered by AI, hyper-personalization, and edge-to-cloud intelligence. He explains further:
In Media: AI is transforming content creation, personalization, dubbing, accessibility, and monetization. With tools like Copilot and generative AI, we’re unlocking new workflows for editors, writers, and marketers alike.
In Telco: AI is driving network optimization, customer service transformation, and churn prediction — making operations smarter and more responsive.
Across the board: The integration of data and AI is moving from a back-end advantage to a front-end experience differentiator. It’s not just about faster decisions — it’s about more human-centered, emotionally resonant experiences at scale.
Turning Trends Into Tangible Impact
Staying ahead in a dynamic industry is all about operating at the crossroads of signals, strategy, and storytelling. Manohar believes successful trendspotting combines foresight with action, and here’s how he approaches it. He identifies trends by leveraging three rich sources of insight:
– Industry foresight: Collaborating with analysts, startups, and venture capital firms to uncover emerging opportunities and disruptions.
– Hyperscaler ecosystems: Co-creating innovative solutions with leaders in cloud, AI, security, and customer experience to explore what’s next.
– Frontline client insights: Some of the most valuable trend signals come directly from conversations with creators, consumers, and CIOs, offering unique perspectives on needs and behaviors.
However, identifying trends is just the beginning. The true challenge, he shares, lies in action—quickly testing hypotheses through design-led workshops, proofs of concept (POCs), and accelerator programs.
“If a concept proves viable, we scale rapidly. If it doesn’t, we pivot and learn at speed. This agile approach ensures that emerging trends are not just observed but leveraged to drive meaningful, measurable impact,” says Manohar.
Words of Wisdom
Here’s Manohar’s advice to companies looking to expand their market share in the Media, Telecommunications, and Entertainment sectors. They should take care of three things:
1. Start with the audience. Deeply understand how their behaviors, values, and expectations are evolving. Then reverse-engineer your content, products, and experiences from there.
2. Invest in intelligent platforms. Cloud, data, and AI aren’t just IT decisions — they’re growth enablers. The ability to adapt, personalize, and monetize in real-time is now a market-maker.
3. Partner with purpose. You don’t need to do it all alone. The right partners can accelerate capabilities, open doors, and co-innovate at scale. Focus on those who understand your industry and can move fast with you — not just sell to you.
Mission Ahead
Over the next 3-5 years, Manohar wants to continue shaping the future of this industry — with impact that’s global, digital, and human.
He’ll focus on:
– Helping clients unlock AI at scale — not just for automation, but for creativity, trust, and growth.
– Scaling innovation that is inclusive, ethical, and sustainable.
– Building the next generation of industry-ready leaders who can navigate complexity with clarity and courage.
“I also want to give back more — through mentoring, board service, and community-based tech initiatives. I believe true influence lies in how you elevate others along the way,” he concludes.
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A Quote to Live By:
“Leadership is not about being the best. It’s about making everyone else better.”
– This quote resonates deeply with me because I believe true leadership is measured by how you empower those around you. Whether it’s uplifting a team, unlocking a client’s potential, or inspiring the next generation of changemakers — my goal has always been to create a ripple effect of positive impact. In an industry as dynamic as ours, that kind of leadership creates lasting value.
Lessons From the Leader’s Life:
Manohar shares a few powerful lessons from his journey as a business leader in the industry:
– People over process. No matter how digital we get, business transformation always comes down to human transformation.
– Progress over perfection. Especially in innovation — start, iterate, and refine. The market rewards speed and learning, not waiting for the perfect solution.
– Trust is the real platform. Whether it’s clients, teams, or partners — trust accelerates everything. I focus on transparency, follow-through, and servant leadership.
– Culture scales strategy. You can have the best ideas, but if your people don’t feel safe, seen, and inspired — it won’t move. Culture is the lever that sustains growth.
