Group Product Manager - Dairy
Britannia Industries Limited
Total years of experience :18 years, 11 Months
• Marketing head for the dairy business which includes eight categories viz. cheese, butter, milk, curd, yogurt, ghee, drinks and dairy whitener
• Responsible for top-line, advertising spends and net operating income
• Creating a new visual identity and architecture along with a new brand identity for the entire range of dairy products
• Recrafting the brand essence for major categories in portfolio leading to new communication and activations
• Pioneering the innovation pipeline and new product development for Britannia Dairy
• Introducing and executing the digital strategy of the business
• Managing and developing the dairy marketing team of three brand managers
Business Size : $ 61 million Spend Budget: $ 8 million
• Carried Project Fast Card, one of the most important and biggest projects of GCPL, through the Innovation Pipeline as the Project Manager. Involved coordinating with a senior cross-functional team, while managing timelines, costs and management expectations
• Developing Fast Card as one of the biggest innovations in the Household Insecticide (HI) space in India, involving
o multi-local media plans,
o focused on-ground activations,
o continuous management of product contributions, and
o utilizing brand budget for maximizing returns
o scenario building in shaping the category going forward
• Involved with two large impact projects towards increasing penetration of HI in the country. Responsible from initial thought to concept and currently working on product development, while leading a cross-functional team
• Efforts culminated in being a part of team Good knight that broke into the top 25 most trusted brands in India, as per BE Survey 2014. Also, Good knight won the Godrej Award for Best Domestic Brand two years in a row (2012, 2013)
• Deputed to head the Middle East business of Godrej at their fully owned subsidiary, GGME. The business was in the red and was given with the responsibility of turning it around. On my departure from the role, the company was back in black and delivering a CAGR of 17% top-line and healthy bottom-line
• Oversaw direct and export business in Upper Gulf (Iraq, Iran, Syria, Jordan), Lower Gulf (UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Yemen), North Africa (Egypt, Chad, Sudan) and Pakistan
• Managed two P2P manufactures based in UAE for manufacture of soaps, hand wash and deo-sprays. Work involved managing production schedules, negotiation on conversion costs and R&D on product development. Single handedly launched indigenously produced deo-spray and handwash in the Middle East
REGIONAL HEAD - MIDDLE EAST
Godrej Global Mideast F.Z.E., UAE
Nov 2008 - Nov 2012
• Deputed to head the Middle East business of Godrej at their fully owned subsidiary, GGME. The business was in the red and was given with the responsibility of turning it around. On my departure from the role, the company was back in black and delivering a CAGR of 17% top-line and healthy bottom-line
• Oversaw direct and export business in Upper Gulf (Iraq, Iran, Syria, Jordan), Lower Gulf (UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Yemen), North Africa (Egypt, Chad, Sudan) and Pakistan
• Managed two P2P manufactures based in UAE for manufacture of soaps, hand wash and deo-sprays. Work involved managing production schedules, negotiation on conversion costs and R&D on product development. Single handedly launched indigenously produced deo-spray and handwash in the Middle East
• Rectified inherent and legacy problems in the business and established robust processes to ensure sustainable business growth
• Managed a team of 6 individuals handling various aspects of business
• Won the MD’s Club Award for business success achieved in the Middle East
• Handed the responsibility to manage one of the biggest depots for GCPL right out of a management trainee stint (over Rs. 200 crores)
• Handled Chennai city distributors and those in up-country markets of Vellore, Pondicherry and Villipuram. Also managed a network of super-stockists and substockists. Effectively handled two ASM areas
• Handled a team of 9 Field Officers, largest in the country at the time
• During the time, brought Chennai to the top 2 depots in the country - a feat never before achieved
• Learnt and implemented Viable Vision for Tamil Nadu - a ToC project by Eliyahu Goldratt Group which heralded a new era for the company
• Recognized by the company and awarded Best Newcomer of the Year - 2006
Part of the Blue Team of the 'Red & Blue Team' Concept promoted by C.K. Prahlad.
Recommendations were made to the MD of the company and some were implemented