World's Largest QSR Company

Executive Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer ・ Japan 2023-Present

• Led commercial calendar development through trendspotting in experiential realms of gaming, sports, music and festivals.  Increased sales mix of new product launches by 26% with +3 uptick in Net Promoter Score
• Strategically built a new occasion and category to address a key customer challenge. Together with new positioning led to  new customer acquisition by 36% and a commercial increase of 2.2 BN JPY
• Proactively devised a new pricing model, gained 1.2 MM new customers and improved EBITA by 630 MM JPY
• Revamped the user experience across app and web platforms resulting in 33% improvement in e-commerce conversion
• Developed an effective earned owned paid approach, improved marketing contribution to sales by 2.2 times
• Developed innovative go to market principles which has now been scaled across France, Netherlands and Taiwan
• Crafted immersive experiences for a young target group that significantly grew brand’s top of mind awareness by 6 points Skills and experience
• Drive marketing contribution towards brand building and commercialization. Develop 1-3 years marketing vision and  commercial strategy for growth
• Conceptualize and execute go-to-market plans involving stakeholders spread across globally and help meet the OKRs • Weave together several functions and internal external resources to create a compelling customer proposition
• Bring new products and service concepts to life through consumer insights, end to end concept ideation, testing, pricing, commercialization, positioning and launch.
• Guide team in product and experience ideation, oversee e-Commerce development and app subscription growth across the customer journey. Digital drives 80% of sales
• Communicate consumer offerings effectively with paid-owned-earned media execution
• Transform the organization with improved digital experiences and monetization opportunities across the customer journey
• Strong cross functional influence and collaboration with franchisees, local and global management, agencies and partners
• Lead, coach and develop a high performing fast moving mid-senior team. Manage a team of 35 full time employees including  senior brand manager, head of e-Commerce, paid media and CRM, PR, consumer insights, creatives and product innovation

IKEA Japan K.K.

Chief Marketing Officer, Country Head of Marketing ・ Japan 2018-2023

• Developed and led new growth strategy. Results +30% reach, +20% branding effectiveness, 20% reduction in media investments, 4 times improvement in eCommerce visitation, 25% incremental store visitation, 14% sales contribution, ROI of 10+ across marketing campaigns in 2021 and 20222
• Proactively transformed local brand positioning that made IKEA brand more relevant and accessible nationally
• Led content marketing initiatives that has won 16 awards including best creativity impact, on a global scale.
• Significantly contributed in making IKEA Japan one of the top 3 best performing marketing units in the world
• Developed and led new growth strategy for IKEA FAMILY loyalty club unit
• Lead omnichannel transformation through test and learns, building digital capabilities, localizing global plans and investing  in advanced marketing technologies
• Launched 3 new experiential concept stores in Tokyo that helped improve brand penetration by 20% points and created an  omni channel customer base 2 times higher than country average resulting in +14% commercial impact
• Co-developed sustainable circular collections, fashion accessories that resulted in 2 times increase in new user acquisition
• Managed a team of 15 employees, rated in top quartile in 360 feedback reports. Implemented effective succession plans and ensured progression of talent within team
• Part of global market council and country management team to accelerate business growth and development plans

SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

• Create strategic vision and relevant OKRs. Steer contribution towards brand building and commercialization
• Understand market needs and work with agencies to develop brand positioning and it’s commercial impact
• Strong cross functional influence over sales, digital, business navigation, stores and business expansion
• Manage and integrate paid, owned and earned media for all IKEA external communications (all categories)
• Manage development of the IKEA FAMILY Customer Engagement and Loyalty Club to maximize customer/member proposition and lifetime value strategies
• Develop and share best innovative practices in marketing to uplift the marketing team’s performance • Lead, coach and develop a high performing fast moving mid-senior team, to reach extraordinary growth objectives

Nielsen India Pvt. Ltd.

Senior Manager, Consumer Insights (Qualitative Research) ・ India 2007-2012

• Clients Managed: Nokia Cellular, Microsoft. (mainly CE and tech brands)
• Awards: Nielsen’s Annual Gold Excellence Award and Simply Excellent Award (for generating highest growth in business), 3 other awards for showing proficiency at work
• Team management and development: Developed the highest revenue generating team for Nielsen Delhi
• Development of innovative research tools/methodologies
• Part of many learning and development initiatives of Nielsen Qualitative division

SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

• Managing and executing several types of qualitative studies, e.g. exploratory/psychographic and need based segmentation/ethnography/usage and attitude/product/concept/positioning/UX development
• Selling and designing research, managing team’s project execution and making insightful and actionable reporting