40 Under 40 2025: Tara Kapur, Duolingo

Tara Kapur

Market head, Duolingo English Test - India
Duolingo
India

With over 16 years of experience across content, brand building, and storytelling, Tara Kapur has excelled across media, marketing and content creation. At Duolingo, she currently heads the India team for their English Test, where she’s focused on making high-quality, accessible education a reality for English learners across the country.

Kapur began her career as a television journalist and producer at ET Now’s Brand Equity, covering the world of marketing and advertising. Her journey has since spanned impactful content roles at Netflix, Vice Media, and Vitamin Stree, a content platform dedicated to empowering girls through storytelling, where she is a founding member.

Recognised as an award-winning marketer, Kapur’s work has been celebrated by international platforms such as Spikes Asia, The Clio Awards, The Webby Awards, and The Shorty Awards, along with top Indian accolades including the Kyoorius Creative Awards, Goafest, Effies, and NEON OOH Awards.

Beyond her professional achievements, Kapur is passionate about mentorship and community building. She hosts a monthly webinar series, ‘Open Conversations with Tara Kapur’, where she shares lessons from her career and offers guidance to students and early professionals navigating their paths.

As the first hire for Duolingo English Test (DET) in India, Kapur built the local business from the ground up and significantly expanded its footprint among Indian test-takers aspiring to study abroad. Her efforts in brand positioning and awareness building have directly contributed to a marked increase in test registrations from India, now among the top three global markets for DET. She spearheaded high-impact marketing campaigns and storytelling initiatives focused on access, affordability, and digital-first testing, all factors that strongly resonate with Indian students.

Kapur also scaled DET’s on-ground presence in India from scratch, assembling a cross-functional local team and setting up operations that reflect both Duolingo’s global brand and the nuances of the Indian education ecosystem.  Through thought leadership, ecosystem partnerships, and advocacy for equitable education access, Kapur has positioned DET not just as an affordable alternative to traditional English tests, but as a tool for social mobility.

Kapur’s leadership style is rooted in collaboration, curiosity, and clarity. She inspires her team not just through execution, but by creating a shared sense of purpose. Her monthly mentorship series reflects her deep commitment to building the next generation of marketing talent—offering advice, accessibility, and encouragement to students and early-career professionals.