Brands
Apple ropes in Mili Kapoor as IPad product marketing lead
MUMBAI: In her 17 years of employment, Mili Kapoor has worked in various trades, verticals and product categories – as a jeans designer, a retail consultant, as a brand manager on oats, at a spirits company, at a global factual television channel, at a foods giant, at a global social media giant, and at a consumer electronics megacorp.
.Not only did Mili make her career choices such that she could give herself as wide an exposure as she could, she took the same path for her education as well.
She completed her high school in commerce from La Martiniere Girls High School, Kolkata. Then she went to do her fashion design course from NIFT, Delhi. Mili followed that up with an MBA in marketing and strategy from the Indian School of Business. Clearly, she wanted to educate herself to the fullest she could by getting herself certifications in Google, Meta, social marketing, content marketing, and programmatic 101.
That kind of a varied career, colourful background and her go-getting attitude are what excited the out-of-the box-thinking company called Apple to hire her as product marketing lead for the iPad in India.
That Mili is a fast learner is quite obvious. However, she has been a fast riser up the corporate ladder as well. Amongst the companies she then chose to work with include:
VF Corp (designer, Wrangler Jeans, 2007-08); Technopak Advisors (associate consultant, Sep 2008-Apr 2010). PepsiCo (sr brand manager Quaker Dairy, July 2011-Aug 2018), Pernod Ricard (sr mkg mgr, premium portfolio-north zone, Aug 2018-jul 2019); National Geographic Channel (AVP-mktg & brand strategy, July 2019-Nov 2020), Nestle (mktg lead-Purina petcare, Nov 2020-March 2022), Meta (Biz mktg mgr, March2022-Dec 2022), Nestle (mktg head, Nestle Profeesional, Dec 2022-Jul 2023), and Philips (consumer mktg leader, Jul 2023-Oct 2024).
Brands
Rohini Laya Venkateswaran named executive director at Gillette India
P&G veteran with two decades of experience steps into leadership role
NEW DELHI: Rohini Laya Venkateswaran has been appointed executive director at Gillette India Pvt. Ltd., bringing with her more than two decades of experience across sales, strategy and brand leadership within the consumer goods sector. In her new role, she will help steer the company’s strategic direction and growth while strengthening its footprint in the grooming and personal care category.
Venkateswaran joins the board after a long career at Procter & Gamble, where she spent nearly 21 years shaping sales strategy, building brands and driving market expansion across India and international markets.
Most recently, she served as chief sales officer for India at P&G. Prior to that, she was vice president and country manager for east gulf markets, overseeing operations in Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain and Qatar while also guiding sales strategy across the Gulf region, including the UAE.
Earlier in her career, she led sales strategy and planning for India while serving as marketing leader for brands such as Olay and Old Spice. During this stint, she focused on reshaping go-to-market channels and building awareness through digital, social and influencer-led campaigns to drive growth.
Her journey at P&G also included roles such as director sales strategy and planning leader India, associate director modern retail and ecommerce, regional manager for Delhi and Rajasthan, and several key account and trade marketing roles across the country. She also spent time in the United States working on the P&G Walmart international team, collaborating on global retail initiatives.
Venkateswaran holds an MBA in marketing from SP Jain Institute of Management and Research and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from RV College of Engineering.
With her mix of sales acumen, brand-building experience and global exposure, Venkateswaran’s appointment signals a sharpened focus on growth and market leadership for Gillette India.
