Headline

Smartwatches | Titan & Fastrack

About

Passionate about brands and driven by results. Proven success in managing P&L, growing business and equity in consumer goods, apparel, Ecommerce, communication planning and broadcast media. Expertise in driving growth through product innovation and cost optimization, building new brands and transforming legacy franchises, scaling brands on Ecommerce through operational excellence and performance marketing, crafting and executing Go-to-Market (GTM) strategy, a sound knowledge of retail with deep experience in market research, advertising and media – digital, social, retail and mainstream. Strong understanding of South & Southeast Asia and the Middle East markets. Curious, creative and an eager learner. A hands-on people leader who thinks and acts team-first. Building brands and businesses from scratch, transforming those in stasis to contemporary, relevant, thriving entities and making Ecommerce a strong driver of growth are areas of keen interest.

Location

Bengaluru

AI stack

antigravity

codex

opencode

Work experience

Chief Marketing Officer at Oliva Skin and Hair Clinic, Mar 2024 - Apr 2025 · 1 yr 2 mos, Hyderabad, Telangana, India, Driving aggressive growth to build scale in the medico-aesthetic space through full funnel marketing, brand transformation and CRM, with a Digital Marketing and Contact Centre team • Steering growth, with a 17-member marketing team and a 35-member Contact Centre team, across customer acquisition, retention, recovery and recovery through organic lead generation, performance marketing, content, social media, partnerships and alliances • Working on restaging the brand through a clear brand identity • Adopting data analytics and AI to build efficiency across marketing and operations • Launched Viva Oliva, a membership program to build long-term customer value

Independent Consultant at Self-Employed, Aug 2023 - Feb 2024 · 7 mos, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India, Worked on a diverse set of businesses building brand identity, scaling up Ecommerce operations and transforming them for growth in business and brand metrics • Helped pivot the D2C brand, Lemme Be, from feminine hygiene to personal wellness and scale Ecommerce operations on both brand and marketplace platforms • Drove Ecommerce growth for Quinta Essentia, a D2C brand in the organic wellness space • Added consumer dimensions to Maxop, an export-oriented Auto OEM, slated to go public • Built the entire brand strategy for an uber-premium residential project, Kashi Ra

Marketing Head - Men's Portfolio at Modenik Lifestyle Pvt Ltd, Apr 2022 - Jul 2023 · 1 yr 4 mos, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India, Transformed the brand identity of the Men’s portfolio leveraging Ecommerce, content, digital and retail initiatives to grow revenue to 1150 Cr, with a budget of 54 Cr • Grew the Social Fan Base on Instagram by 20X to 65,000+ and on Facebook to 1 Million+ • Created an award-winning corporate identity online, through modenik.in • Revamped Slimz’s brand identity through U&A researches, market studies and design immersions • Streamlined annual budgets by 15% through data insights from brand and retail tracks • Made the brand persona contemporary and enhanced in-house design capabilities saving 0.8 Cr • Enhanced Ecommerce RoAS by ~100% with A/B Tests, A+ Content and listing optimization Recognition: Datamatixx 2023 - Silver, Best Data-Driven User Acquisition Strategy Indian Content Marketing Awards 2022 - Silver, Content Marketing Strategy

Head - Ecommerce, Watches & Wearables at Titan Company Limited, Feb 2020 - Mar 2022 · 2 yrs 2 mos, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India, Achieved a revenue of 595 Cr, spearheading the Ecommerce business for Watches, Wearables, Hearables and Clocks on Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra, Nykaa, Ajio and Paytm • Generated 50% revenue and profit growth, contributing to 15% of Watch Division sales • Boosted Market Share by 200 bps and strengthened brand metrics with a 16 Cr budget • Ensured 99%+ process adherence, making Titan a top-tier Seller account on Amazon, Flipkart • Introduced ‘epic’, a D2C brand focused on youth, driving incremental sales of 5 Cr+ in Year 1 • Built and grew the Ecommerce play of Smart Wearables by 6X through sales-linked agreements

Marketing Head, Sonata-SF & TRAQ at Titan Company Limited, Jan 2016 - Jan 2020 · 4 yrs 1 mo, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India, Turnaround of India’s largest volume watch franchise - Sonata & SF - with a 28% revenue growth, 400 bps improvement in Gross Margin and significant rise in brand equity with product innovation and impact marketing. Launched TRAQ by Titan, high-performance premium smartwatches with an aligned app, developed for advanced users in the fitness and endurance space Key Milestones & Recognition Pujo with Sonata, 2019 – Online film reached ~11 Mn (~70% of TG), building engagement with influencers Partnering Mission Mangal, 2019 – Special collection launched on Social youtube.com/watch?v=E9-EqQQonnU Exclusive watch of CSK Digies Digital Awards 2019 – Best Performance Marketing India’s Wedding Season: Maddys 2019 – Best Use of Print Sonata Brand Restage, 2017 – A new proposition “Khud Par Yakeen’ with Sushant Singh Rajput Sonata Sharodia App, 2017-19: Digital guide for all info regards Durga Pujo Downloads: 100K+ Maddies 2018 – Best Mobile Application DAC-SAARC Awards 2018 – Best Use of Mobile in Digital Communication Sonata Ganeshotsav App 2018 – A mobile guide for Ganeshotsav in Maharashtra Downloads: 35K+ Sonata FB: Ramp-up of Sonata’s FB base from 250K to 1Mn+ in 6 months Inkspell Awards 2019 – Best Performance-Driven Social Media Campaign Sonata ACT (2016) – India’s first safety watch for women Brand Equity: bit.ly/3436eEy Effies 2017 – Silver, Consumer Durables EMVIES 2017 – Bronze, Best Media Strategy Abbys 2017 – Gold (3), Bronze (2) Gold: Best Use of Radio, Best Experiential Campaign, Best Integrated Content Bronze: Best Non-Fiction Branded Content, Best Use of Branded Content Brand Equity Marketing Awards 2018 - Best Brand Launch of the Year Big Bang Awards 2017 – Gold, Best On-Ground Activation; Bronze, Best Microsite Kyoorius Awards 2017 - Branded Content, Best Use of Radio Kutch-Kanyakumari, 2016-17: SF serialized a journey on Digital EMVIES 2017 - Silver, Radio Innovation

Marketing Head - International Business at Titan Company Limited, Apr 2013 - Dec 2015 · 2 yrs 9 mos, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India, Steering brands, products, pricing, retail identity, communication and tactical initiatives across markets in South & South-East Asia, and in the Middle East, delivering impact through a 20 Cr budget • Managed differential pricing across markets, delivering a 150 bps growth in Gross Margin • Executed a new retail identity across markets for Titan • Built special lines and special editions for Vietnam, Singapore and the UAE

Manager, Marketing at Times Global Broadcasting Co. Ltd. (TIMES NOW), May 2005 - Sep 2007 · 2 yrs 5 mos, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, Part of the start-up team at TIMES NOW. Responsible for media panning of the launch, research across broadcast, programming and distribution. Worked on the on-air programming grid, scheduling, on-air promo plans. Some strategic projects: Deciphering Expectations from News – Research on viewer behaviour in the news space Sensitivity of Distribution on Viewership – Analytics using raw viewership data to establish the effect of distribution of channels on their viewership Correlation of Promos and Programming – Analysing impact on viewership by parameters of scheduling and on-air promo inventory

Education

PG Diploma in Communication, Marketing Communication, MICA | The School of Ideas

B.Sc. (Hons), Zoology, Delhi University

Public links

github: https://github.com/thakurutkarsh22