Brands
Kedaara Capital signs Fortune 250 leader Chris Baker for tech investments advice
MUMBAI: Kedaara Capital is beefing up its circle of operating advisors. Following the announcement of Keki Mistry in the ring a week or so ago, it today disclosed that it had bought seasoned entrepreneur Chris Baker on board as an operating advisor working closely with its technology teams.
Chris has close to 30 years of experience as an entrepreneur and senior leader in Fortune 250 companies. He brings a wealth of expertise in growth technology services and tech-enabled businesses.
Most recently, Chris served as SoftServe CEO of where he achieved an impressive organic revenue growth of approximately 7x during his eight-year tenure from 2016 to 2023. His success can be attributed to his structured approach to growth and the development of scalable, modular teams.
An entrepreneur at heart, Chris founded MailCode, a high-tech mail processing solution company, which was later sold to Pitney Bowes. Following the acquisition, he led sales for Pitney Bowes’ $400 million document messaging technologies division and later became president of Group 1 Software, the company’s largest software acquisition at the time.
Throughout his career, Chris has been instrumental in scaling multiple businesses and holds several patents, reflecting his passion for technology and innovation. In his new role at Kedaara Capital, Chris will provide insights on current and future investments in the technology services sector.
Chris Baker’s extensive experience and proven track record of success position him as a valuable asset to Kedaara Capital as it continues to expand its leadership in technology investments.
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.
