Brands
Mallikarjuna Rao named head of online sales at Xiaomi India
BENGALURU: Xiaomi India has pressed refresh on its leadership playbook, elevating Mallikarjuna Rao B V to head of online sales across all categories for Xiaomi India, while also entrusting him with the PocoIndia brand across all channels.
The move marks a pivotal shift for the company as it looks to sharpen its digital edge. Rao steps into the role after a standout stint as head of channels for offline sales, where he helped rewrite the script for Xiaomi’s brick-and-mortar business.
During his tenure, the offline network saw a strong revival driven by clear and transparent partner policies, smart use of technology, and close collaboration with retailers and distributors. The result was renewed momentum and a noticeable lift in trust across the channel ecosystem.
Now, Rao brings that same playbook to the online arena, overseeing Xiaomi and Redmi’s digital portfolios while also steering Poco across channels. With consumer buying journeys blurring lines between online and offline, the appointment signals Xiaomi India’s intent to knit its sales strategy into one seamless experience.
For Xiaomi, it is less about a change of chair and more about continuity of momentum, with a leader who has already shown a knack for turning strategy into scale.
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.
