Financial & Business Consultant
Independent
Total years of experience :32 years, 2 Months
Actively engaged in the study of financial markets & instruments for wealth creation
Working as an independent business consultant for US based advisory firm ‘GLG Group’.
Working as an academic writer for Ukraine based ‘Livingston Research’.
ValuAccess is a Hong Kong based aggregator & distributor of gift/prepaid cards.
Developed, lead and implemented the Company’s B2B Sales network.
Grew business with digital & physical distribution partners including Big Bazaar & Apollo Pharmacy etc.
Pinwheel Ventures was a self promoted business created to invest into the IT education retail sector.
Planned & implemented strategies to drive enrollment & revenue objectives
Was actively involved in promotion through conducting seminars & workshops in educational institutes
Achievements:
1.Doubled sales from approximately USD 500, 000/pm to USD 1 million/pm within a span of one year.
2.Implemented measures to achieve a net saving of USD 330, 000 in expenses over the full year.
3.Ensured the timely roll out of 15 WHSmith stores adding approximately 9000 sqft of space across tough 24x7 airport & high street retail scenarios in Hyderabad, Cochin, Delhi & Mumbai.
4.Guided the HR team to add more than 100 staff within a span of 7 days during Hyderabad & Cochin store openings to ensure just in time hiring & thus cost control
Job role:
1.Operations:Complete responsibility for running the day to day operations of the company
2.Sales Objectives: Responsible for the Sales budgeting & achievement for the retail business of WHSmith India including 25+ stores covering more than 15, 000 sqft across major metro airports.
3.Financials: Ensured that key operating parameters such as EBITDA, Cost of Goods sold, inventory values, stock aging etc is maintained to pre determined objectives
4.Retail Expansion:Responsibility for the aggressive roll out of new stores across locations in India
5.Regulatory:Ensured that all legal & statutory compliances are met in the conduct of company’s business
6.Retail Standards: Ensured that key service level agreements(SLA’s) are met & maintained to WHS standards across new & existing outlets pan India.
7.Relationship Management:Cultivated effective business relationships with critical stake holders
8.Marketing:Motivated the marketing & commercial teams to run highly effective marketing initiatives & promotions to grow sales & visibility through the year
9.Team Management:Lead cross functional teams including 8 direct reports & 300+ associates to achieve consistent growth.
1. Conducted market research & feasibility studies for an MNC planning to introduce the ’Hello Kitty’ range of international lifestyle brand into India
2. Formulated the entry strategy & presented the same to the company board in Dubai
Independent profit center responsibility of the group’s ‘Carlton Cards’ division for the entire GCC market .The division deals primarily in Gifts, Greetings, Souvenirs, Stationery, Home & Festive decorations etc
Achievements:
1.Grew net profits from USD 100, 000 to around USD 275, 000 in the three years at a CAGR of nearly 40%.
2.Gross margin grew by 5 percentage points in the same period mainly through introduction of newer products and aggressive negotiations with suppliers.
3.Reduced non performing inventory from USD 680, 000 to USD 125, 000 to ensure continued profitability of the business.
Job Role:
1.Business: Complete P&L responsibility for the business including top & bottom line.
2.Retail:Responsibility for sales at 9 company owned retail outlets occupying around 20, 000 sqft in Dubai, Abu Dhabhi, Bahrain & Oman.
3.Wholesale: Developed sales at major wholesale & key accounts such as Carrefour, Geant, Dubai Duty Free etc.
4.Procurement:Complete responsibility for international buying with budgets around USD 400, 000 every visit from suppliers & exhibitions in UK, Germany, China etc
5.Vendor Development: Effectively managed relations with more than 50 vendors & maintained an efficient pipeline to ensure optimum stocking levels & the best deals for the company.
6.Team Management: Grew business through a team comprising 8 direct reports & 55+ associates spread across UAE, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain & Kuwait.
Independent business responsibility for the group's Stationery division for UAE & Oman
Achievements:
1.Grew sales from USD 4 million to USD 6.8 million in two & a half years.
2.Turned around the business from a loss making to a profit of USD 300, 000 through new product launches and streamlining of sales & procurement procedures.
3.Tied up with major brands such as OHTO of Japan, APP of Indonesia, Luxor & Ballarpur Industries of India to position Algurg Stationery among the top 5 stationery companies of UAE.
Job Role:
1. Business:Independent Profit Center responsibility of the group’s stationery business for the UAE & Oman markets.
2.Sales: Complete responsibility of sales through own retail outlets, wholesale & B2B channels
3.Product Development: Development of new products for the division through visits to stationery fairs in Germany & Hong Kong & co-ordination with other suppliers.
4.Technology:Actively involved in the setting up the company website with a view to make it commercial and the implementation of the SAP module across functions in the company.
5.Leadership:Managed cross functional teams handling Operations, Procurement, Logistics, Accounts and HR.
Achievements:
1.Successfully launched the Archies Kids Stationery brand across major towns in North India & parts of Western & Eastern India.
2.Managed the appointment of superstockists across all state capitals & distributors in other areas
3.Lead a team of managers & sales personnel to expand the distribution network from 0 to 7000 outlets in a matter of months.
Job Role:
1.Business Development:Start up and management of the Kids Stationery division for the company by handling strategic alliances for sales, distribution, procurement & marketing
2.Team Building: Creation of a high performing Sales, Distribution, Marketing & Procurement team to establish Archies as a prominent brand in the Stationery business.
3. New Product Development: Tie up and relationship management with major stationery suppliers to ensure constant availability of quality products.
4.Marketing: Lead the marketing initiative of the division through press conferences, advertisement, display units & promotion plans.
Achievements:
1.Lead the introduction & growth of brands such as Post-it®, Scotch™Magic™tape etc in the Indian market.
2.Grew sales by more than 40% on a YOY basis to reach a turnover of USD 830, 000/pa in the North Region.
3. Appointed more than 8 distributors & expanded distribution from 50 to nearly 500 major accounts.
Job Role:
1) Business Development: Implement the best FMCG practices to grow business for the Stationery & Office supplies division in North & East India.
2) Distribution: Increase the product availability through aggressive expansion into all major markets.
3) B2B Sales: Tap the latent demand for the product by making inroads into large corporates & institutions & tying up with office suppliers.
4) Marketing: Leading all marketing activity in the region including sale promotions, events & cross functional tie ups.
Achievements:
1.Successfully launched a number of female hygiene & consumer products in the assigned territory.
2.Received a letter of commendation from the Division Vice President in the first year of work.
Job Role:
1. Sales: Achievement of Sales, Distribution & Visibility targets in the assigned territory.
2.Collections: Ensuring that distributor payments are collected on time & out standing does not exceed the set objective.
3. Inventory Management: Preparing three month rolling forecasts & ensuring that distributors are always adequately stocked.
4.Distributor Handling: Maintaining effective relations with the channel partners with a view to constantly growing business.