shants6138 years of industry experience encompassing Retail Marketing, Brand Management & Business Design

I am an alum of Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Calcutta (1985-87) and Delhi College of Engineering (1980-84). I have over three and a half decades of experience, across various industries, domains and countries. My professional exposure and expertise include Grocery Retail (B2B & B2C), Business and Brand Consulting, FMCG Sales & Distribution, Marketing (B2B & B2C), Brand & Product Management, GTM strategies, Customer Acquisition/Retention & Customer Service.

I retired on the 31st of December 2025 after 38 years in the industry. My last assignment was as mentor and CMO for METRO Wholesale, that was acquired by Reliance Retail Ventures. Prior to the current assignment, I was the CMO for Reliance Market (B2B) and subsequently for JioMart Partner (on-line B2B) and the online pharma business, netmeds.com.

Whilst at Reliance Retail for the last 14 years of my career, I oversaw Go-To-Market strategies and execution, new acquisition amalgamation, enabled digital transformation efforts in marketing & customer communication. Further, I have set up, recruited, trained and mentored the marketing/brand functions in the companies I had the opportunity to work with.

Prior to joining Reliance, I have led businesses/divisions in both Indian and trans-national companies like Godrej Soaps, Pepsi India, SIEL- Honda, Titan, Schweppes (Russia), Idiom Design & Consulting, METRO Cash and Carry India & Reliance Retail Ltd.

I was an Independent Business Design & Marketing Consultant between 2008-10. I was the mentor and marketing consultant for a fledgling Internet start-up Think Ahead. I Co-Founded NationWide Primary Healthcare Services Pvt. Ltd. (nationwidedocs.org) with 2 other NHS Doctors who had returned from the UK. This was later funded by NorthWest Venture Partners.

Between March 2006 and June 2009, I was the CEO at Idiom Design and Consulting Ltd. (Currently known as Spread Design and Innovation Pvt. Ltd.) and THIRD I Design Ltd. This was Mr Kishore Biyani’s Retail Design Think Tank.

In my capacity as CEO I have been the thought leader on various projects and helped KB and other clients develop strategic business ideas for innovative retail formats and brands, many of which grew to become national brands. I grew this small Business Design company from a 75 people, Rs. 60 Mn. organization to a 150 people, Rs. 120 Mn design think-tank within a year. The company won various industry awards during this period for its work. Under my stewardship, we bagged the 2010 CWG (Commonwealth Games) contract to design the logo, mascot for the games as well as the graphical look and feel for the entire event.

My Strength lies in the ability to conceive ideas and strategies and take them from thought to execution with skill, speed and imagination. My deep insights on consumer behavior come from my education, varied work experience and by being rooted in what I do. My approach emphasizes building impactful teams to deliver collaboratively, resulting in award-winning campaigns and enhanced and effective customer experience.

I like coaching and mentoring young talent, identify emerging leaders & enable Team performance. More importantly, I help organizations navigate the most critical task of transparent communication with all stakeholders, with maturity and wisdom and with a deep understanding of stakeholder sensibilities.

I have, on invitation, conducted seminars on Marketing, Innovation and Business Design at IIT Mumbai (IDC) & IIM Bangalore and written for various industry magazines on varied topics.

Area of Expertise- Marketing, Brand communication, Retail marketing, Business design, Digital marketing, Go to market strategies, FMCG sales & distribution, Business consulting, Shaping marketing, Customer engagement, Acquisition & communication strategies, Start up, Setup new brand, Sales & markting