Harshad Apte, Social Media Lead

Harshad Apte

Social Media Lead

Capgemini Group

Location
India - Mumbai
Education
Master's degree, MBA with a specialization in Marketing
Experience
22 years, 11 Months

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Work Experience

Total years of experience :22 years, 11 Months

Social Media Lead at Capgemini Group
  • India
  • My current job since June 2015

I manage Expert Connect, the group-wide & global B2B Social Media program, where along with my team of 20 Social Media Partners & Content Marketers, we manage ~1500 subject matter experts, key Account Executives and members of the Sales fraternity from 40 countries and 23 business themes. A large Content Marketing program at heart, it is geared towards increasing funnel influence as well as enhancing recall of brand Capgemini in all relevant topics. Together with my team, I provide Content Marketing, Social & digital media strategy inputs to the Group and different SBUs and TLIs, besides also contributing to the global Social & Digital Media strategy and governance. Alongwith my team, I work with Global & Country Marketers to drive campaigns across Social Media channels and also manage the social media strategy for the group-wide digital campaigns including focus areas such as ABM and Pursuits.
I also play a role in terms of global Social Media governance leading the creation of a Style Guide to define the tone of voice for Social Media Usage while also putting together guidelines for the usage of visuals, themes etc across Group Social Media channels. I also run various training initiatives at a Group level to increase adoption of Social & Digital Media for business and focusing on specific channels like Podcasts, Blogs etc. Currently also leading an exciting project to deploy chatbots to leverage content for sales enablement within key strategic Accounts and Global TLIs.

General Manager & Business Head, Salesforce Marketing Cloud at Mirum India (erstwhile Social Wavelength), a part of the WPP Group
  • India - Mumbai
  • August 2014 to May 2015

Business Leadership - Salesforce Marketing Cloud:
▪ Head the Salesforce Marketing Cloud business for the Indian sub-continent, spearheading the
business acquisition and management of Radian6 and Exacttarget Marketing Cloud accounts.
▪ Reach out, acquire and manage business from WPP agencies across the globe.
▪ Co-ordinate with the Global Salesforce Marketing Cloud Channel Director based out of
Melbourne, Australia to ensure smooth functioning of relationship as well as planning for
business growth and delivery.
▪ Function as Lead Consultant, helping put together solutions based around Salesforce Marketing
Cloud suite of products to effectively solve client problems.
▪ Evangelize the benefits of Social Media Listening and Marketing automation and 1:1 cross
channel digital communication, across agencies, large and small as well as mid and large sized
corporates.

Group Head - Communications at JM Financial Institutional Securities Ltd
  • India - Mumbai
  • July 2011 to July 2014

Communication Strategy and Leadership:
 As VP and Group Head at JM Financial, orchestrate and execute integrated strategic communication plans for new and existing businesses across the group.
 Conceptualised and setup the group-wide intranet, ‘Connect’ enabling knowledge management and greater employee interaction and hosting of group-wide applications under one common, easy-to-access interface.
 Spearhead company’s strategic marketing planning process. Integrate business objectives and marketing plan, establish communication and advertising.

Change Management:
 Instrumental in applying change management approach and methodology to enhance the need for visibility in the changing media landscape within the senior management.
 Conceive and strategize company’s annual report to a corporate marketing document from a Clause 49 compliance document.

Brand Management:
 Raise firm’s credibility within the market by handling corporate positioning and branding initiatives.
 Improve brand visibility by advising and guiding on media plans and strategic events.

Team Development:
 Lead the communications team to support the development and execution of the communications strategy.
 Promote a culture of high performance and continuous improvement that values learning and a commitment to quality.

Vice President - Communications at India Infoline Ltd
  • India - Mumbai
  • June 2001 to June 2011

 Played an important role in utilising advertising & branding in transforming the start-up equity research company, increased company’s revenues manifold and building ‘employer equity’ leading to the significant manpower growth from 150 employees to 12, 000 employees.
 Established firm’s visibility on social media platform making it a most desired brand in the Indian non-banking financial service sector.
 Oversaw the overall visibility and branding of the group; successfully orchestrated advertising and branding strategy with budget of over Rs. 150M.
 Catalyzed marketing effectiveness by launching and re-launching brands.
 Led to business expansion into new territories, countries and pioneered the entry of the first financial service brand into the social media landscape.
 Led a team that worked closely with the Promoter, Chairman and Managing Director in achieving the company listing on the National Stock Exchange and the Bombay Stock Exchange.
 Conceptualised and launched the ‘Stock Messaging Service’, a first-of-its-kind service in India, in 2004, which served not only as an important revenue generator, but as a critical cross-sell channel for the firm’s broking offering.

Education

Master's degree, MBA with a specialization in Marketing
  • at K.J.Somaiya Institute of Management Studies & Research, University of Mumbai
  • May 2001
Bachelor's degree, Bachelors in Commerce
  • at Kelkar Education Trust’s VG Vaze College of Arts, Science & Commerce, University of Mumbai
  • May 1999
Diploma, Diplome de langue francaise
  • at L'Alliance Francaise de Paris
  • June 1998

Specialties & Skills

Brand PR
Media Relations
Agency Relations
Reputation Management
Corporate Communications
Tech-savvy
Team management
Excellent writing skills
Managing multiple parallel projects under tight deadlines
Media relations

Languages

English
Expert
Hindi
Intermediate
Marathi
Expert
French
Intermediate

Hobbies

  • Fitness
    Enjoy cycling and regular exercise as a good way to keep myself fit. Focused on healthy living
  • Travel
    Bitten by the travel bug, I have traveled to many places across the world - Amsterdam, Austria, Dubai, Istanbul, Malaysia, Maldives, Munich, Paris, Singapore and many more. Love to travel to new destinations around the globe to experience the culture, cuisine and other unique perspectives.
  • Trekking
    Frequented peaks in the Sahyadri ranges (western coast of India). Also done a 11-day Himalayan expedition in Sar Pass. Recently completed one of the 10 toughest treks in the world, the 'Chadar trek', in February 2014. Possible only in the months of January and February when the Zanskar river in Ladakh in the Himalayas freezes over, it is also of the most picturesque treks in the world.
  • Singing
    Received many awards for singing, both at school and college levels. Also represented IIFL at the Radio City Karaoke contest (hosted by the leading radio station in Mumbai).