MAM
Ex-PepsiCo marketing director Vani Gupta joins Hypersonic
MUMBAI: Vani Gupta, PepsiCo’s former marketing director has joined Hypersonic as a founder member and will lead the consumer innovation practice. Her expertise in marketing consumer-centric innovations will drive the innovation marketing and category management for Hypersonic’s clients across industries that include FMCG, IT, media, telecom, healthcare, real estate, and e-commerce.
On her appointment Gupta said, “I love demonstrating impactful growth through consumer thinking. Hypersonic is an ideal fit at this stage of my career as it allows me to work on multiple innovations and varied marketing challenges, that would benefit from the hands-on intervention of the Hypersonic team,” according to adageindia.in.
Prior to PepsiCo, she had a rewarding stint with Unilever where she led the successful launch of a hair care range for colored hair across South East Asia and South Asia. Before Unilever, Vani worked with Reckitt Benckiser, where she launched Veet in India and crafted a success model for emerging markets.
Hypersonic Advisory was founded in 2017, by a team of leading industry experts with 100+ years of combined experience. They work on site with their client teams, thereby strengthening a company’s own capability to scale and achieve their next level of growth. Hypersonic is unique as it commits to its solutions by linking pay-out to measurable results.
Hypersonic Advisory co-founder Venkatesh Rangachari said, “Vani is a recognised leader in the marketing field and her creative-technical acumen will be a valuable asset to our clients. Vani has a track record of bringing innovations successfully to the market. She compliments Hypersonic’s ethos of being effective doers. We’re excited to welcome Vani to our founding team and are the stronger for it.”
After joining PepsiCo India in 2011, she revived Kurkure and boosted the growth to double digits. Her roles in the two decades has been managing cross-cultural teams, complex brand, and product launches, and developing innovation mixes for different markets.
Brands
Emami names Dhruv Aggarwal as chief growth officer
Former Bain partner steps in as FMCG firm sharpens growth playbook
MUMBAI: Emami Limited has appointed Dhruv Aggarwal as its chief growth officer, effective 25 March 2026, following the resignation of Giriraj Bagri.
Aggarwal joins the FMCG major from Bain & Company, where he most recently served as partner. With over two decades of experience across consulting and strategy, he brings a global perspective shaped by work across India, the US, the UK and Germany.
During his tenure at Bain, Aggarwal advised consumer, retail and media companies on large-scale transformations, business turnarounds and growth strategies. He was also closely involved with India’s startup ecosystem, guiding early-stage ventures on scaling and digital expansion, while supporting private equity and venture capital firms on investment decisions.
His earlier stints include a brief role at Barclays Capital and operational experience at Jindal Power, giving him a mix of financial and industry exposure.
Academically, Aggarwal holds an MBA from Indian Institute of Management Bangalore and has also been associated with University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign as a PhD candidate and teaching assistant.
The appointment comes at a time when Emami Limited is looking to sharpen its growth strategy in a competitive consumer market. With a seasoned strategist now at the helm of growth, the company appears set to double down on transformation and expansion in the months ahead.
