Brands
Honasa Consumer chief business officer Zarius Master puts in his papers
MUMBAI: It’s time for Zarius Master. to say goodbye. The chief business officer of D2C FMCG innovator Honasa Consumer Ltd resigned from the company on 2 January. His resignation becomes effective 28 February 2025.
Zairus, according to his linkedin profile, was responsible for lower funnel management to capture demand and translate to revenue; for leading the evolution of an omni channel, multi brand organisation to drive profitable growth by gaining shares across categories in beauty and personal care and for creation of a business plan through investment allocation choices across categories, brands, and channels to optimise for growth and profitability.
Honasa co-founder & CEO Varun Alagh, like Zarius, cut his teeth in FMCG with Hindustan Unilever and this is what encouraged the latter to join him.
Zarius joined the company in August 2021 from recruitment portal Shine.com where he worked for nearly eight years and rose to become its CEO. Prior to that he had stints in sales, marketing, and category leadership with some of the crème de la crème of corporations: Hindustan Unilever, Nokia, and Airtel.
An economic arts graduate, Zarius completed his diploma in marketing and topped that with an MBA in marketing from IIM, Lucknow.
Honasa which counts MamaEarth, The Derma Co, BBlunt, Dr Sheth’s, Aqualogica, Staze9to9 and the Bblunt Salons in its brand portfolio was founded in 2016 by Ghazal and Varun Alagh. It reported revenues of Rs 462 crores in Q2 FY 2025 while the half year 2025 revenues were at Rs 1016 crore. It reported a loss of Rs 19 crore in the quarter and a profit of Rs 22 crore for the half year.
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.
