Brands
Rajesh Rana takes the reins as ITDC’s marketing chief
MUMBAI: Hospitality veteran Rajesh Rana has been appointed director (commercial & marketing) at India Tourism Development Corp (ITDC). The ministry of tourism, in an order dated 10 March 2025, confirmed the appointment committee of the cabinet’s (ACC) nod for his five-year stint—or until further notice. Rana took charge today, 17 March 2025.
A hospitality honcho with 26 years in the trade, Rana brings deep expertise in catering, tourism, marketing and business operations. An alumnus of the Institute of Hotel Management, Lucknow, with an MBA in marketing, he started out as a management trainee with Jaypee Hotels before making his mark at PSU THDC India Ltd.
Rana’s career took off when he joined IRCTC in 2005, where he spent 19 years masterminding hospitality and tourism strategies. He climbed the ladder from deputy general manager to general manager, steering operations across regional, zonal and corporate offices. His knack for product development, marketing and risk management has left a lasting imprint on railway catering and tourism.
Before his ITDC move, Rana served as general manager at IRCTC’s corporate office in New Delhi, also doubling as chief risk officer. With ITDC now in his hands, expect a shake-up in tourism marketing and commercial strategy.
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.
