Arun Kumar
Editor
Veteran journalist Arun Kumar joined The American Bazaar after reporting on world affairs from four vantage points — New Delhi, Islamabad, Beijing and Washington — for Indian national media. Previously as North America Bureau Chief of IANS news agency based in Washington DC, he told the American story for its subscribers spread around the world for 11 years.
Before that Arun worked as a foreign correspondent for PTI in Islamabad and Beijing for over eight years. On return to India, he worked as Chief News Editor, Editor Special Services and Assistant General Manager at PTI. Arun has penned five books for PTI providing an in-depth analysis of Indian elections from Nehru to Vajpayee besides compiling and editing PTI Offbeat, a coffee table book of offbeat pictures taken by PTI photographers.
Arun also wrote an in-depth essay on Delhi as part of a study on urbanization for the Press Foundation of Asia, Manila. He has contributed articles for various publications besides TV scripts and voice-overs. He also contributed a chapter titled “All the Presidents’ People: Trust in the Corridors of Power” in a new book, “Kamala Harris and the Rise of Indian-Americans” documenting the extraordinary impact made by this small minority in the US.
Arun received Media India Award for Excellence in Journalism from K. R. Narayanan, then Vice President of India in 1992. He was on the visiting faculty of Indian Institute of Mass Communication, School of Convergence and The Genesis School of Communication, New Delhi.
Arun also dabbled briefly in public relations as External Affairs Advisor to DuPont India Ltd and Vice President CMCG India servicing major media clients such as CNN, ESPN Star Sports and Cartoon Network.
A science graduate with a Master’s in Political Science with International Affairs, Arun is also a Fellow (Development Journalism) of UN Asian Institute, Bangkok.
Mythili Devarakonda
Staff Writer
Mythili Devarakonda holds a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Maryland, College Park. While her portfolio goes back to her teenage years, when she contributed to various online pop culture publications; her recent endeavors include working as a reporting fellow with USA Today, gaining millions of reads for her stories. She was also the audience engagement fellow for Chalkbeat, a non-profit publication covering education in America. Some of Mythili’s reportage has appeared in Maryland’s regional newspapers such as The Southern Maryland Chronicle and The Enquirer Gazette, as part of her capstone course where she worked on the data and graphics desk at Capital News Service.
Now, as part of The American Bazaar, Mythili hopes to serve the Indian American and South Asian communities with quality news.
Zofeen Maqsood
Features Editor
Zofeen Maqsood, who started her career with Fashion Bloom magazine, has written for nearly two decades on trends, lifestyle, books and entertainment. Before moving to the United States, she worked for the Times of India and the Hindustan Times, among other major Indian publications. Prior to joining the American Bazaar in 2019, she wrote and reported on the expat issue and immigrant lives in the United States for various publications.
Jayshal Sood
Contributing Editor
Jayshal Sood, based in Toronto, has more than 10 years of experience in communications. Previously, he served as the Managing Editor of the American Bazaar for four years. A Journalism and Public Affairs graduate from the American University, in Washington, DC, he has worked for local, national and international news organizations including Highlands Productions, Inc, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC News), Asian News International (ANI), Oscar’s Institute of Art and Research and The Indian Express. Sood has thorough understanding of news coverage and mass communication. He was awarded Hall-of-Nations scholarship by The American University in 2006. He is also a recipient of Liu Foundation Multicultural Scholarship from Syracuse University.
Venkatesh [Venky] Raghavendra
Contributing Editor
Venkatesh [Venky] Raghavendra is a global social entrepreneur. He writes frequently on the topics of philanthropy, social entrepreneurship and its impact, and the changemakers who are catalyzing the change.
Geeta Goindi
Contributing Editor
Geeta Goindi, a journalist based in the Washington, DC, is a Contributing Editor. She has been covering the Indian American community for more than a decade. Follow her on twitter @geetgoindi
Dileep P. Thekethil
Web and Social Media Editor
Dileep P. Thekethil, a Mass Communication post-graduate degree holder from Pondicherry University, is based in Bangalore. Prior to joining The American Bazaar in 2013, he was  an SEO Content Manager for ISPG Technologies Pvt. LTD., the official channel partner of Google Adwords in India. He currently heads the India operations of The American Bazaar, leading the editorial, design and marketing team from the Bangalore office. He is a frequent blogger who keeps a tab on the latest updates in the technology arena. While at Pondicherry University, he anchored in creating a separate website for the Mass Communication Department www.puinquirer.edu.in.
Asif Ismail
CEO & Publisher
Asif Ismail, a journalist, producer and media entrepreneur based in Washington, DC, area. From 2000 to 2008, he worked as a writer and editor at the non-profit investigative journalism outfit Center for Public Integrity. As part of the Center’s investigative team, he has won several top journalism awards, including a 2006 Society of Professional Journalists award and a 2004 Investigative Reporters and Editors prize. He is also a winner of the South Asian Journalists Association award in 2004 and 2005. Ismail started his journalism career with The Times of India in New Delhi, and he has also worked for Khaleej Times in Dubai.
Muhammad Faizal
Manager, Sales and Operations
Muhammad Faizal has more than eight years of managerial experience with a number of international companies. Most recently, he was a manager at Turning Point Software Solutions, a US-based information technology company. Prior to that, he was a team leader with Synchronoss Technologies, headquartered in Bridgewater, New Jersey. Faizal holds an MBA degree from the John Mathai Center, Department of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Calicut.
Anil Prayag
VP, Marketing and Sales
Anil Prayag joined The American Bazaar as the Vice President of Marketing and Sales in April 2017. Previously, he was the Area Procurement Manager for Delaware, Maryland and Virginia, of Waste Management, Inc., a $13 billion company. After graduating from National Institute of Technology (Karnataka, India) in Mechanical Engineering, Anil worked for an automobile bearing factory in Pune as their Tool Planning and Materials Management Manager. A few years later, he started three businesses in Pune, India —one of them being a Pattern Shop. He came to the United States to explore the possibilities of exporting the patterns from India. After leaving Waste Management, he started Prayag, Inc. a consultancy firm for Procurement, Marketing and Sales.