NEW DELHI: No doubt Covid2019 had an impact on nearly each and every category, but it could not deter the long-term objectives of brands. They ensured that work did not stop and it was business as usual, albeit under vastly different circumstances. As the lockdown lifted, several businesses started regaining pre-Covid sales and revenues, while others are still working their way to it with optimism.

Even though there were layoffs at all levels, there were also those who picked up new roles during this challenging time. In the marketing domain, there were several big movements across brands throughout the year that surprised the industry and became the talk of the town. Some of these industry leaders joined emerging start-ups, vouching to scale them with their skills and market understanding; while others took charge of large and established brands, ensuring that their user base remains intact, and the communication with the consumer evolves further.

Some of the noteworthy appointments include:-

Kapil Grover, Burger King

The quick-service restaurant space has witnessed rapid growth in India, though it, too, hit a stumbling block courtesy the pandemic. Home delivery and take-away options sustained the category, but with the fifth phase of Unlock underway, people have started dining out again. In order to further grow and consolidate its business, Burger King India appointed Kapil Grover as chief digital officer. He returned to Burger King after nearly two years at Jubilant FoodWorks’ Domino’s Pizza as CMO.

Grover is a successful marketer with close to two decades in the industry. He has had stints with KFC India, Radico Khaitan, and Luxor Writing Instruments in the past.

Aparna Mahesh, Great Learning

The star of edu-tech continues rising in India, and competing brands are leaving no stone unturned to ensure their campaign outshines the rest. Amid this high-stakes fight, Great Learning appointed Aparna Mahesh to lead its global marketing strategy, development and delivery of brand communication, strategic marketing partnerships and user engagement. She joined from BankBazaar and has two decades of experience under her belt and a track record of building and nurturing successful brands nationally and internationally.

Under Mahesh’s leadership, GreatLearning hit it out of the park this IPL with its Power Ahead campaign featuring Indian cricket’s golden boy Virat Kohli.

Deepika Warrier, Diageo

Liquor is one of the most difficult categories to market as the government does not allow any kind of advertising in it. The marketers in this category experiment with different formats to create a recall for their brand. This year, during the pandemic, Diageo brought ace marketer Deepika Warrier on board as CMO to lead its portfolio. Warrier has spent over two decades at Pepsico across different roles in India and markets overseas. 

Gayatri Yadav, Sequoia Capital

Star India’s former top executive and one of the most trusted hands at the broadcast network, Gayatri Yadav joined Sequoia Capital as chief marketing officer - India. Yadav spearheaded numerous initiatives at Star India and has over 20 years of experience in marketing across consumer products and media industries. She was last serving as president of consumer strategy and innovation at the broadcaster. Yadav has worked with brands such as Procter & Gamble and General Mills and was responsible for launching the Pillsbury brand. She is known in the industry for her leadership skills, brand management, business development, competitive analysis, business strategy, and keen customer insights.

Gaurav Verma, PharmEasy

Online medicine delivery is an extremely vibrant category that has only skyrocketed with the onset of the pandemic. It consists of several players competing for the mind space of consumers. PharmEasy, which accounts for 25 per cent of revenue in the e-pharmacy market, recently hired Gaurav Verma as CMO. He joined the organisation from Zomato, where he was working in the same capacity. Verma has over 15 years of experience and has worked at PepsiCo, TATA Tea, Lenovo and ITC.

Suman Varma, Hamdard Wakf Laboratories

Earlier this year, Hamdard Wakf Laboratories brought Suman Varma onboard to lead the marketing strategy for its extensive portfolio, which includes classical medicine, patented medicines, OTC products, and wellness centres. Varma is a veteran agency professional and marketer with over 30 years of experience. She has worked at J. Walter Thompson and Rediffusion Brand Solutions, and served on the boards of several brands as an independent director.

Pradeep Hejmadi, Hathway

Hathway Cable and Datacom appointed Pradeep Hejmadi as its chief marketing officer in April 2020. He joined the MSO from Aidem Ventures where he was serving as CEO. Hejmadi has over two decades of experience and has previously been with ZeeL, TAM, MTV India, Turner Research, Discovery Networks, BCCL, and J Walter Thompson.

Avneesh Khosla, Vodafone

Over the years, the telecom sector in India has expanded services across multiple portfolios – broadband, enterprise solutions, VAS, telecom services, cloud, security, cybersecurity, shared solutions, and others. Vodafone, one of the leading telcos in the country, elevated Avneesh Khosla as the brand’s chief marketing officer in April this year.

Khosla is an old hand at Vodafone and was last serving as director, marketing. He has over 20 years of experience and has seen the transformation of Hutch into Vodafone. During his tenure, the company underwent yet another change in brand identity, as is now known as Vi.

Meghna Apparao, Licious

Industry stalwart Meghna Apparao joined Licious to grow the meat, meat-products and seafood brand as a chief business officer. From strategising for growth, to launching new categories, building business verticals, leading pioneering assignments across India and global markets to transforming consumer behaviour in the online space; Apparao has done it all. An able leader, she has led and mentored high-performing, multi-disciplinary teams throughout.

Apparao came from Godrej Consumer Products where she was serving as a CMO. She has been associated with some of the biggest names in India Inc, viz, Hindustan Unilever, Amazon and Godrej.

Kedar Apte, RBML

A veteran marketer, Kedar Apte joined RBML, a 2019 joint venture between Reliance and BP for fuels and mobility in India, as CMO to lead categories such as fuel, convenience retail, and electric vehicles charging. He is a part of brand Jio-BP.

Apte joined RBML from Castrol, where he was serving as VP marketing. He joined the firm in 2011 and spent a total of nine years at the lubricants giant. Prior to that he worked with HUL for nearly nine years.

Manav Sethi, Octro

With leadership experience across ecommerce, omnichannel marketplaces, local search, maps and classifieds, Manav Sethi joined Octro as global chief marketing officer.

Prior to that, he was with Eros International, where he was working as group chief marketing officer. At Eros, he supervised growth of OTT platform and brand Eros Now. He was also the founding CMO for ALTBalaji. During his two-decade-long career, Sethi has worked with Zenith Infotech, PSI Data Systems, Webdunia.com, Reliance Big Entertainment, Bigmaps and AskMeBazaar.

Karan Shroff, Unacademy

The edu-tech brand which brought Karan Shroff from Xiaomi to lead the marketing function elevated him as the chief marketing officer for the brand. He is responsible for product growth, marketing, strategy, user retention, acquisition and several other portfolios. An ace marketer with sharp analytical skills, Shroff is an entrepreneur turned marketer. He founded his events company and then moved up the ladder step by step to reach this position. He spearheaded Unacademy’s first TV campaign ‘Let’s Crack It’, which became a viral success.

Viral Oza, Mahindra Life Sciences

A veteran marketer with experience across media, handset, FMCGs, realty, and technology sector, Viral Oza joined Mahindra Life Sciences as CMO. He has nearly three decades of experience and has worked with a variety of brands such as HUL, Nokia, BCCL, Microsoft, Lodha Group and others.

Oza is leading the brands product portfolio, building deep market understanding and strengthening customer insight capabilities. He steers this transformation across the company’s residential and industrial businesses.

Anupam Bokey, Allied Blenders

India’s alcohol market includes domestic as well as foreign brands. With more disposable income in peoples’ hands, the category has been taking off of late and brands are launching newer variants, and marketing across multiple channels to connect with audiences. Allied Blenders and Distillers, which hosts brands such as Jolly Roger, Sterling Reserve, Officer’s Choice and others, roped in Anupam Bokey as CMO to lead marketing across its product portfolio. He joined from Too Yumm! He has over 25 years of experience and has worked with brands such as HUL, Britannia, and RPSG, to name a few.

Meenu Bagla, Cyient

Cyient, a digital technology and engineering solutions provider, appointed Meenu Bagla as VP and CMO. She is responsible for strengthening the brand reach, relevance, and advocacy to deliver accelerated business growth in new and existing markets.

Prior to her Cyient stint, she was with Tech Mahindra as global head of. She has held marketing leadership positions at major multinational companies, including Quinnox, Wipro, Oracle, Aditya Birla Group, and CSS Corp. Bagla has evangelised and implemented a lean marketing strategy that is fuelled by digital technologies and powerful storytelling.