Brands
Nishant Gupta named VP, chief strategy at PepsiCo India
GURUGRAM: PepsiCo has handed the strategy reins for India and South Asia to Nishant Gupta, appointing him vice president, chief strategy, transformation and deployment. In a role that blends big-picture thinking with on-ground execution, Gupta will shape the company’s strategic direction while driving large-scale change across one of its most dynamic markets.
Announcing the move, Gupta said he was excited to begin a new chapter at PepsiCo India and South Asia, and credited the vision and trust of Athina Kanioura and Jagrut Kotecha for the opportunity. His mandate, he noted, is clear and ambitious: enable sustainable, profitable growth while building a more resilient future for both the business and the communities it serves.
Gupta arrives with a résumé that reads like a tour of modern consumer transformation. Most recently, he was partner for CPG and Retail at Tata Consultancy Services, where he managed consulting P&L, opened new client relationships, and led transformation programmes spanning go-to-market strategy, digital and AI roadmaps, supply chains, quick commerce and M&A due diligence across India, the Middle East and Africa.
Before TCS, he held senior consulting roles at KPMG and Accenture, advising FMCG, retail and consumer businesses on growth, efficiency and channel strategy. He also brings entrepreneurial experience as co-founder of Farmery, a direct-to-consumer dairy venture that built a full-stack farm-to-home supply chain and broke even within 15 months.
With deep roots in strategy, operations and execution, Gupta now steps into a role where thinking big is only half the job. The other half is making it happen, at scale, in a region that never sits still.
Brands
Faber-Castell India appoints Sunaina Haldar as director – marketing
With stints at Tata, SleepyCat and ADF Foods under her belt, Haldar is primed to redraw Faber-Castell’s brand story
MUMBAI: Faber-Castell India has poached Sunaina Haldar from ADF Foods, appointing her director – marketing as the German stationery brand looks to muscle up in a category that is rapidly reinventing itself around creativity and self-expression.
Haldar hit the ground running. “My first couple of weeks have been incredibly energising, understanding consumers, visiting markets, engaging with retailers and immersing myself into the world of Faber-Castell Group,” she said.
She arrives with considerable firepower. At ADF Foods, Haldar ran marketing across India and international markets for a portfolio spanning Ashoka, Aeroplane, Camel and ADF Soul. Before that, she was vice-president – marketing at direct-to-consumer mattress brand SleepyCat, where she helmed brand, content and performance marketing. Her résumé also includes a stint leading marketing, new product development and CRM for Tata SmartFoodz at Tata Consumer Products, no small proving ground.
Between corporate roles, Haldar also operated as a fractional CMO for early-stage startups, building marketing strategy and operational structures from scratch, a signal that she knows how to move fast with limited resources.
With 18 years straddling FMCG, D2C and the startup world, Haldar now takes the reins at a brand that has long owned the classroom but is clearly hungry for the living room. In a stationery market where the pencil has become a lifestyle statement, Faber-Castell has picked someone who knows exactly how to sell that story.
