Mumbai: Percept Live Pvt. Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Percept Limited and the force behind Sunburn—Asia’s leading dance music festival and among the top three live music festivals globally—has announced the strategic appointments of Nikhil Uniyal as Business Head and Sonal Shah as Head – Brand Partnership and Sponsorship Sales, effective February 1, 2026.
The appointments underscore Percept Live’s sharpened focus on accelerating growth, strengthening monetisation, and scaling its portfolio of high-impact live, hybrid, and content-led Intellectual Properties (IPs) across India and international markets.
Percept Live pioneers immersive live and digital experiences that connect brands with millions of consumers worldwide. Its purpose-built IPs engage diverse audiences year-round, offering brands multi-sensory platforms across music, culture, sports, fashion, and lifestyle. The company’s marquee IP portfolio spans live and hybrid formats, including Bollyboom—the world’s first and largest Bollywood Dance Music Festival; EPL (Eat Play Love)—a celebration of food, music, and art; Windsong—an exclusive adventure music festival rooted in storytelling and the arts; IMS (India Model Search)—India’s only transparent and inclusive fashion discovery platform; and XCC (Xtreme Combat Championship)—a high-octane, multi-gender combat sports property fused with fashion, food, and music.
As Business Head, Nikhil Uniyal will drive Percept Live’s next phase of growth and monetisation. With over 16 years of experience across media and marketing, Nikhil brings deep expertise in growth strategy, business development, revenue leadership, and IP creation. He has led large-scale ATL, BTL, and digital campaigns and is known for building and monetising IPs through consumer insight-led strategies and optimised sales systems.
Prior to joining Percept Live, Nikhil held senior leadership roles at Wondrlab India, ENIL (Radio Mirchi), The Times of India Group (Red Cell), and GroupM (MEC). In these roles, he scaled IP-led business models, delivered double-digit profitability improvements, and enhanced operational efficiencies across Delhi, Mumbai, and Chennai. At Percept Live, he will spearhead strategic growth and diversification across live entertainment, content production, talent management, and marketing communications, while driving innovation and expansion across domestic and global markets.
Further strengthening the leadership team, Sonal Shah has been appointed Head – Brand Partnership and Sponsorship Sales. She brings over 26 years of experience across ad sales, brand solutions, influencer marketing, and experiential sales, with a strong track record spanning linear television, OTT, digital, social media, and live events.
Before joining Percept Live, Sonal held senior leadership roles at ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. and Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific. Her experience includes leading large-scale branded content initiatives, influencer-led campaigns, live events, and sponsorship-driven programs across entertainment, youth, lifestyle, and sports properties. At Percept Live, she will focus on strengthening the sponsorship ecosystem, unlocking integrated brand opportunities, and driving scalable, high-value partnerships across the company’s IP portfolio.
Commenting on his appointment, Nikhil Uniyal, Business Head, Percept Live, said, “Percept Live stands at a powerful intersection of culture, content, technology, and scale. I’m excited to lead the business at a time when live entertainment is evolving into a year-round, always-on engagement platform for brands and consumers alike. With a strong portfolio of IPs and an experienced leadership team, our focus will be on amplifying impact, driving innovation, and building sustainable, future-ready growth engines that position Percept Live as a global benchmark in immersive entertainment.”
Sonal Shah, Head – Brand Partnership and Sponsorship Sales, Percept Live, added, “Percept Live’s IPs are cultural powerhouses with unmatched scale, relevance, and emotional connect. I’m thrilled to be part of this journey and look forward to building deeper, more meaningful brand partnerships that go beyond visibility to deliver measurable value, creativity, and long-term equity. Together, we aim to create sponsorship ecosystems that are immersive, integrated, and truly transformational for brands.”
Karan Singh, CEO, Percept Live, said, “As Percept Live accelerates its expansion across geographies and platforms, we’re pleased to welcome Nikhil Uniyal and Sonal Shah to the leadership team. Their appointments significantly strengthen our leadership depth at a time when live experiential businesses are evolving into powerful, always-on growth engines. Nikhil’s ability to build and monetise IP-led businesses, combined with Sonal’s proven expertise in creating high-value sponsorship and brand partnership ecosystems, positions us to accelerate scale, sharpen monetisation, and build future-ready platforms. I’m confident they will play a pivotal role in shaping Percept Live’s next chapter of growth and global relevance.”
With these senior appointments, Percept Live is poised to accelerate its next phase of growth, reinforcing its position as a category leader and cultural catalyst across live entertainment, content, and experiential marketing ecosystems.
