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Donald Borrian Chairman - CEO, Francorp, USA He is one of the world's most sought–after consultants in the field of franchise strategy and business expansion. With a career spanning more than four decades, Boroian and his companies have provided consulting services to more than 10,000 companies and have created full franchise development programs for more than 2,000. His clients have ranged from small and medium-sized businesses, to corporate leaders, such as ARCO, BP, Hershey Foods, NutraSweet, Nestle, John Deere, Popeye's Fried Chicken, Ryder Trucks, Ace Hardware and Valvoline. Boroian has been on the Board with many Associations and Advisory. Some of the leading books co-authored by him include The Franchise Advantage, How to Buy and Manage a Franchise, and Franchising Your Business. |
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Brad Sugar Founder and CEO, Action COACH "Serial entrepreneur" Brad Sugars is the founder and CEO of Action COACH, the world’s #1 business coaching franchise with over 1,000 offices in 26 countries – and a global headquarters in Las Vegas. He has worked with thousands of businesses, taught millions of business owners how to grow and develop their companies and owned over 50 businesses of his own. Whilst being trained as an accountant, Sugars is more known for his hands on approach to business growth and for developing a proprietary system of business development that is used by his coaches and his company all over the world. He is also a respected columnist and a best-selling writer. A regular monthly contributor to My Business magazine (Australia) and Entrepreneur.com (U.S.), he a frequent source for interviews and quotes in leading business publications on a national and international basis. In 2005, he also secured an international publishing contract with McGraw-Hill for his series of business development books. Currently, all 14 of Sugars’ Instant Success Series books are available online and at amazon.com. |
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Dheeraj Dogra Head- Retail, Express Avenue Dheeraj Dogra has over 20 year’s cumulative experience in retail operations and real estate with over seventeen years of international experience (USA) in business development and relationship Management. He is an MBA with a Masters Certificate in Customer Relationship Management from Baruch College, City University of New York. He has been associated with Ansals API as Sr.General Manager and Head Retail and commercial leasing. He has also worked with DLF Ltd as General Manager in the retail vertical and with Aerens Goldsouk International Ltd. as Associate Vice President. He has worked in USA for 18 years with ABC Carpet & Home Furnishings New York as a Senior Consultant, Federated Department Stores (Macy’s & Bloomingdales) where in year 1995 he was adjudged “Employee of the year” and Bed Bath & Beyond a Fortune 500 company where he was a member of the core team. He is also associated with various Institutions and colleges including ICFAI Business School, IIM Kozhikode, IMT, Delhi University, India Retail School, IPM, and Skyline Business School etc., as a guest faculty and hence contributes to knowledge sharing.Dheeraj also as part of community service initiative has been a voluntary New York City Police Officer. |
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Mehul Choksi Chairman and Managing Director, Gitanjali Group Mehul Choksi, is Chairman and Managing Director, Gitanjali Group, one of India’s largest integrated diamond and jewellery manufacturer-retailers and a leading name in the global gem and jewellery industry. In the early 1990s, he pioneered the development of branded jewellery in India, launching Gili in 1994, and since then has developed a large portfolio of jewellery brands for different consumer needs and segments. Today, brands from the Gitanjali Group including Nakshatra, Gili, D’damas, Asmi, Sangini and others are among the most visible and largest selling in India. Under him, the group has also developed its retail presence in international markets like USA, Middle East and China through acquisitions and tie-ups. Mr. Choksi is now spearheading forward and backward integration of the Group into the luxury lifestyle segment with a major expansion at the retail level and the development of sector specific SEZs for the manufacturing of high end jewellery. Mr. Choksi is the Chairman of the FICCI Gems & Jewellery Committee and a Member of The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council’s (GJEPC) Diamond Panel Committee |
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Yuri Bolotin MD, Design Portfolio, Australia Yuri Bolotin is a Principal of Design Portfolio, one of Australia's leading specialist retail and brand design companies. Design Portfolio's primary objective is to help their clients build better businesses through unique, marketing-driven retail design and brand design concepts that combine interior design, brand design, graphic design, web site design and other elements. Over the past 23 years and while being involved in over 780 projects, the company developed a unique Design Portfolio Method© and produced designs that have had a direct effect on improving their clients' performance and returns on investment. Design Portfolio's projects are in many locations in Australia, as well as in China, USA and New Zealand.Yuri Bolotin has published many articles on retail design, addressed conferences, conducted educational seminars and does consultancy work on the improvement of retail business for retailers. |
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Raghu B Vishwanath MD, Vertebrand Management Consulting Pvt. Ltd He has over 20 years of experience in Brand Management, Marketing Strategy and Business Consulting in blue chip organizations, across various sectors. He began his career with SmithKline Beecham Consumer Healthcare Ltd., where he was the Brand Manager of Horlicks and Boost and later joined TITAN Industries Ltd., as NATIONAL BRAND MANAGER. A graduate as an engineer from IIT, Chennai, and PGDM in Marketing and Consumer behavior from IIM, Kolkata, founded VERTEBRAND as India’s first, integrated Brand Strategy firm, specializing in building Brand Equity for businesses across industry verticals. Headquartered at Bangalore, Vertebrand has offices across New Delhi and Mumbai with team of over 30 professionals. Vertebrand, over the last 7 years, has been advising many large businesses on evolving and practicing scientific, brand-building processes. MTR, Nilgiri’s, ‘W’, Namdhari’s Fresh, TVS Tyres etc., are some big brands grown exponentially with the Vertebrand’s intervention. Raghu is a guest faculty at a number of Premier Management Institutes and is also an Executive Coach, working with many business CEOs, in helping them envision an appropriate Brand Strategy for their growing business. |
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Marie Louise Jacobsen MD, Retail Management Solutions [RMS] Pte Ltd, Singapore A very well acclaimed 'Buying and Merchandising Expert' globally; Marie-Louise has over 30 years of in-depth retail experience specializing in merchandising assortment audits, brand and private label concept and creation. She is the Retail Consultant and Managing Director of RMS, Singapore. Her former roles have included Regional Director Sales and Marketing at Tyco Fire and Security and GM-Merchandising Robinsons Group of Stores. She is considered to be the 'People-Talent Developer' and has authored one of the best selling books 'The Art of Retail Buying – An Insider's Guide to the Best Practices from the Industry'. Her articles on retail, especially highlighting the current economical trends have been published in several leading national and international news papers. She is the Course Director teaching retail buying and management, Brand Creation and Store Operations and is one of the most sought after speakers in Retail. |
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Hsien Naidu Astreem, Singapore With over 18 years of consumer retail experience in the region, Hsien Naidu has been integral in the growth of many local SMEs from across varying industries via franchising, marketing, branding or intellectual property protection strategies. She has held key executive positions with some of the regions most recognised brand names. Hsien’s passion is rooted in aiding SMEs to grow in the region and whilst doing that, increasing each client’s business value. As a Certified Practicing Management Consultant, CASE Trust Certified Consultant and a SCOPE IP Consultant, Hsien and Astreem are committed to bringing new and relevant marketing insights to the business community in Asia Pacific and hence her ongoing partnership on projects with Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (ASME), International Enterprise (IE) Singapore, Franchising and Licensing Association (FLA) Singapore, Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) and Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI). |
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Brendan Dorrian CEO, Global Retail Networks, UK Brendan Dorrian is described by Andrew Jennings, CEO Woolworth's South Africa, as 'The master networker in Retail today' and regarded by Target in the U.S thus 'We like to believe our influence and reach is vast; but Brendan Dorrian has helped us in ways we never imagined and driven productive results.' World class references for a retailer turned retail networker. Following a previously successful career with Sears Corporation, Arcadia Group and BAA, Brendan Dorrian formed the Global Retail Network in 2002 'To create a truly global network where the currency was relationships, not revenues'. Seven years later, the results speak for themselves: Over five thousand retail executives worldwide, connected through one company not online but face to face. The most telling affirmation comes from Retail Guru, George Davies: It's friends like Brendan that give that different angle often needed, he's my secret asset!' |
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Dawn Stallwood Partner, Thomas Eggar, USA Dawn is a Partner within the commercial practice group; Asia liaison; lead partner of the hotel, leisure and travel; and notary public. Dawn provides strategic commercial/corporate legal support and advice for entrepreneurial and expanding businesses (newcos with strong entrepreneurial management through to listed companies), covering routes to market; expansion strategies (including M&A and private equity); exit; joint ventures and collaborations; and procurement (managing supply chain).Dawn’s client base and connections are in the UK and international (Hong Kong, mainland China, India, Asia-Pacific and Australia). Her particular sector focuses are hotel, leisure and travel – traditional and web/mobile based. Dawn is responsible for Thomas Eggar’s Asia/Asia-Pacific liaison activities (client support and business generation). In her role she also assists UK clients wishing to do business or invest in Asia/Asia Pacific and to assist Asian/Asia Pacific-based corporates and individuals investing, developing or managing UK assets and UK business interests. Dawn gained a 2.1 Honours Degree from Kingston University before completing her professional examinations at Guildford College of Law with distinction. Dawn is also a fully qualified Notary Public. Before joining the firm in 1998, Dawn worked for a leading helicopter operator. |
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Babette Marzheuser-Wood Partner, FFW, UK Babette is rated as one of the world’s top franchise lawyers by The International Who's Who of Franchise Lawyers and by Chambers Global .She has been advising clients on international franchising for more than 15 years. She is dual qualified in England and Germany and has worked in Germany, Hong Kong and London. She lectures around the world on franchising and has published numerous books and articles on international franchising including the European section of Butterworth's Canadian Edition on Franchise Laws. She is an executive member of IFDI, the International Committee of the ABA Franchise Forum, a member of the IFA and IBA Franchise Committees and member of the editorial committee of the new volume on International Franchise Sales Law published by the ABA. Her clients include leading global franchisors such as Starwood Hotels, IKEA, Costa Coffee, Ramada, Dunkin Brand e.t.c. She is the Director of FFW and recognised as one of Europe’s leading experts for international franchising |
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Lene Rudabaek Founder & CEO, ANSA-HOUSE SDN. BHD, Malaysia The Founder of the Ansa-House "2nd Generation of franchising Philosophy", Lene has established her business for 15 years ago based on 25 years of global franchising experience. As a native of Denmark, she stepped into the world of franchising at the age of 22 when she purchased the franchise rights to a quick print service from overseas. Years after she accepted the role of executive manager for Scandic Hotels, now a member of the Hilton Group and after a couple more years Lene was approached by McDonald from the US to head up their European franchise expansion. She left McDonald later to set up her own consulting business in Copenhagen, Denmark – the beginning of ANSA-HOUSE GROUP. |
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Doug Bugie CEO, Antal International Networks, USA Douglas Bugie, a 55-year-old American, has a quarter century the executive recruitment industry and has established such business in over 35 countries across the world. At 30, Doug entered this industry as Global Marketing Director for Management Recruiters International (MRI), and was responsible for selling and opening over 400 MRI franchises in the USA. Industry survey in leading publications have ranked Doug in the top 1% of the most influential global leaders in recruitment, mentioned alongside leading names like Russell Reynolds, MRI, and even Bill Gates as a top flight recruiter of talent. Doug has worked for the Barack Obama campaign in the USA as well. Arriving in London in 1992, Doug co-founded the recruitment franchise Humana International with James Caan, the well known entrepreneur and one of the ‘Dragons’ on the well known UK TV show ‘Dragons Den’, Earlier in his career, at a young age, Doug held senior international executive positions at several Fortune 500 corporations and was the youngest Chairperson in the history of one of the first and largest trade conferences held in the American Midwest. Doug joined the Main Board and CEO at Antal International an executive recruiting company. He there founded within the Antal Group a franchise called iworkLife, or "Intelligent" Work Life, which gives people who want to build a recruitment business. Doug is a compelling, accomplished speaker in person, in media. Doug is active in projects relating to inner city education and funding cancer hospices, is a Board Director at the Palm Beach Film Festival in America. He has homes in Cleveland, Ohio, Boca Raton, Florida and the Bahamas. |
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Rod Young Executive Director, DC Strategy, Australia Rod is a recognized authority in franchising and has over 30 years experience in franchising, licensing and business development in Australia, Europe, China, South East Asia, India and the United States and is leading a consulting conglomerate developing networks and brands. Rod has been a key advisor to some of Australasia's leading groups - transforming smaller businesses into national and international chains and steering larger organisations in using franchising or licensing as a management and marketing tool. His business interests have also included roles as both a franchisee and franchisor and is a major contributor to media. He is endorsed by the Franchise Council of Australia, is a Visiting Professor of Beijing Normal University, Zhuhai, PRC, a Board Member of the Indian Franchise Association and has developed leading edge franchise services including Franchise Program Development, Franchise Marketing, Franchise Financial Services and Franchise Personnel and HR. He is one of the most sought after speakers in India and globally. |
| Luis Daniel General Manager, Kenny Rogers ROASTERS International Mr Luis Daniel has great operation experience during his tenure in Mc Donald’s, Pizza Hut and Kenny Rogers ROASTERS. He has also been appointed to set-up an exclusive Indian restaurant in Malaysia. In the last 25 years of experience in the F&B sector, Mr Luis Daniel has successfully set up many new restaurants, operated them lucratively and now duplicating the successful system overseas as well. Currently, appointed as the General Manager of Kenny Rogers ROASTERS International, Mr Luis Daniel handle the development of the brand through-out the globe. |
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Brian Duckett Chairman, The Franchising Centre, UK Brian Duckett is the notable franchise consultant with an experience of thirty years, and The Franchising Centre comprises six businesses providing specialist services to potential and practising franchisors in the UK and around the world. Those businesses are The Franchise Development Centre, The Franchise Training Centre, The Franchise Support Centre, The Franchise Sales Centre, The Franchise Careers Centre and The International Franchising Centre. He has worked in the franchising sector since 1976, initially as a franchisee, then as a franchisor, now as an advisor to businesses either considering or operating franchised networks, at any stage of their franchise development, from concept development to exit. Brian serves on the board of the British Franchise Association. |
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Federico Fiorentini General Manager, BRD Consulting, Italy Federico operates today as the GM of BRD, which specializes in developing direct and franchise networks with a broad experience in all aspects of market research, financial and management in the retail. He has been among the first most famous companies in Italy to relaunch and remarket malls (commercial center) in difficulty. He is Docent of Marketing at ASCOM ConfCommercio, currently professor of a Master in the International Retail Management, Cabin Member of FIF- Italian Franchise Federation since 2000. He is also Project leader in the commercial chain development projects in Italy and abroad with H3G, Wind Telecommunications, Buffetti and other major brands. He is also the author of numerous articles, reporter in conferences globally on issues ranging by internationalization, property market by large retailers and distribution organizations in geomarketing and development of commercial franchise networks. |
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Aaron Hodson CEO International Division, Harcourts International, Australia Aaron has been responsible for the International Growth of one of the most successful real estate groups in the world, with over 40% growth in the last 18 months in one of the toughest markets ever seen. Harcourts has incredibly successful operations in New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, China, Africa, and South Africa, Indonesia & Singapore and affiliated links in 30 other countries around the world. Developing a full service values based operation focused directly on the success of its people has laid a foundation for a record of success the is second to none. Harcourts International currently has over 650 offices with over 6000 employees and with current expansion developments expects to have 2500 offices with 20,000 employees in 25 countries in the next three years. |
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Gareth Parry Co-Founder & President, Global Franchise Marketing, Canada Garry has a wide personal portfolio of franchise, licensing, distribution, advisory and management skills, developed by working with some of the leading global franchise systems. Gareth is the Co-Founder and President of Global Franchise Marketing, an international franchise consultancy and financial advisory firm, serving clients across North America, Europe, Middle East and Asia. He was previously the Managing Director of FranExcel, an international franchise marketing and consultancy firm based in Dubai, UAE, where he helped international franchise companies and investors achieve success through franchising, as well as consulting with companies to help build their own franchise systems and provided special purpose investment vehicles for investors to acquire private equity stakes in global franchise companies. Gareth has worked for a number of blue-chip hospitality companies including Whitbread plc, the Compass Group plc and The Restaurant Group plc. And also speaks regularly at franchise events across the world. |
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Harminder Sahni MD, Wazir Advisors, India Harminder Sahni is Founder and Managing Director of Wazir Advisors – a consulting firm focused on consumer products and services sectors including textile & apparel. Harminder Sahni worked with Technopak Advisors for 13 years and left recently as Managing Director and Partner. Harminder has been involved in various corporate strategy, business creation, diversification and performance enhancement assignments across sectors for Indian as well as International clients. Harminder has also been instrumental in developing India entry strategies for many leading international companies and has also assisted them in finding suitable partners in India. Some of the major clients in textile and apparel sector include : Reliance, Marks and Spencer, Ministry of Textiles, Cotton Council International (CCI), Arvind Mills, Alok Industries, Orient Craft and Bombay Dyeing.Harminder is regularly invited to speak at industry forums and is frequently quoted in the media on subjects diverse subjects. |
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Sonia Manchanda Fellow Co-Founder and Principal Designer, Idiom Consulting, India Sonia Manchanda is one of the only designers in the country to work in diverse areas like culture, public policy, education, hospitality and retail. She is the Co-founder and Principal Designer at Idiom Design & Consulting, one of India’s largest Design Company. She was part of the team that conceived and designed the idea of setting up this design company. She has created the visual language of some of India’s largest retail brands like Big Bazaar, Central, Pantaloon, Manipal Group and Future Group. She is leading the team that has designed the 2010 Commonwealth Games logo and will design the look of the games. She was on the India Today list of the 30 most powerful women in the country. She has also won advertising awards from ad clubs for work at Esign and has been recognized as a successful entrepreneur by national magazines like Outlook. |
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Mahmood Khan Hospitality Expert, Virginia Tech, USA Mahmood Khan has over 32 years of experience in teaching, research and administrative positions working at the major U.S. universities. His area of specialization in Franchising and International Services Management makes him the expert in the field. Khan has served on the Board of Governors of the Educational Foundation of the International Franchise Association. He is on the Board of Directors of the Virginia Hospitality and Tourism Association, the trustee of the International College of Hospitality Management and of the Foundation of the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association’s International Association. Khan is also the member of several hospitality professional associations. He is written seven books including ‘Restaurant Franchising’ and ‘Encyclopedia of Hospitality and Tourism Management. He has been listed as Fulbright Senior Scholar and has received several awards. He offered workshops and seminars to various professional organizations in several countries. He has traveled extensively and lectured nationally and internationally. |
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Robert Trota Chairman, Phillipines Franchise Association, Philipin Mr. Robert F. Trota currently sits as Chairman of the Philippine Franchise Association (PFA). In his four-year term as President of PFA, he actively supported PFA's thrust of promoting franchising as a tool for national development and as an effective and profitable way to expand business within and outside national borders. A Certified Franchise Executive, Mr. Trota is also the President of Max's Restaurant, one of the leading family-oriented restaurant chains in the Philippines that boasts of over 60 years of successful operations with 115 branches in the Philippines and six outlets in the US located in California and Hawaii, and with two more branches set to open. Mr Trota is also one of the Directors of The Real American Doughnut Company which was awarded development rights to handle franchise operations of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc., USA in the Philippines. His expertise are in the areas of conceptualizing, organizing and managing restaurant operations both for local and international markets. Mr. Trota also holds the post of Vice Consul for the Consulate General of Ireland in the Philippines. |
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Tony White Director, GloriaJeans Coffees, Australia Mr. Tony White heads The White Connection, an international management consultancy group specializing in business development in the Asia Pacific region. Tony consults companies in the areas of business development, franchising, licensing and international brand market entry strategies. Tony regularly speaks at Small & Medium Enterprise and franchising conferences and has a passion to see SME entrepreneurs become the best, both personally and professionally. Tony has been living in New Delhi with his family for the past 7 years and brings a unique blend of international best practice with an understanding of the Indian entrepreneur. |
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Hemchandra Javeri MD , Forum Synergies, India Hemchandra Javeri has a proven track record in building successful businesses across industries in retail, brand building, premium fashion and apparel, home, electronics, FMCG and spirits. He was Chief Executive Officer, Home Solutions Retail India Ltd, a part of the Future Group in 2007-08. In this role, he led all the initiatives of the Future Group in the home and electronics space with focus on consumer durables and electronics, furniture and home improvement. Prior to this he was Senior Executive President, Madura Garments Lifestyle Brands and Retail. He successfully led the transformation of portfolios of power brands into lifestyle icons, including Louis Philippe, Van Heusen, Allen Solly, Peter England and San Frisco on an international quality and scale. He was Co-Chairman of Fashion Alliance of India for three years (2004-07). Hemchandra Javeri joined Madura Garments from Nike Inc. where he was Country Manager, South Asia. |
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S. Ravi Kant Chief Operating Officer, Eyewear Business, Titan Industries Ltd., India S Ravi Kant heads the Eyewear Business Division. His association with Titan goes back to 1988 when he joined the organization as Senior Manager – Direct Marketing and later moved on to Marketing and heading functions like Retailing and Exports. He was also Project Head for setting up an assembly plant in Dehradun. Between 1995 and 2005 Mr. Ravi Kant headed the company’s international operations in the Middle East and Africa, as the Managing Director of an associate Company, Titan International (ME) and from 2005-2007 moved to head the International Business Division of Titan Industries, based at the Headquarters in Bangalore, where he was accountable for performance of both the businesses, watches and jewellery in over 30 countries. Prior to joining Titan he was employed with HCL Limited for 6 years between 1982 and 1988. His career started as a Management Trainee in HCL and moved on to functions such as, product management, sales and marketing at various locations including Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai and Calcutta. He completed his Masters in Business Management from the Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), Delhi in 1982. |
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Vivek Bali Group President-Global Brand & Marketing, Spice Hotspot An Economics Grad from St. Stephen’s college, Delhi University and alumni of Faculty of Management studies, Delhi, Vivek started his career with his brief stints with Godfrey Philips, India (Philip Morris, Global Tobacco Leader) as Product Executive and the Swedish Safety Match maker Wimco, where he joined as a Management Trainee in 1981. With 27 years of rich and diverse sales, marketing and business experience across the globe with a highly successful track record in the Telecom and Consumer Packaged Goods, has made Vivek Bali a seasoned business professional. Vivek is currently Group President – Global Brand & Marketing, with Spice, a multifaceted professional organization operating in the technology and entertainment domain. Within this short period in Spice, he has been instrumental in propelling the Spice brand forward, including high quality customer scores, various awards like the “Golden Peacock Innovative Product / Service Award -2007”, and driving business benefits across the group operating units. He has been a key player in developing a self sustaining franchisee model for rapid inorganic expansion of Spice Retail as well as the extension of Distribution and Retail channels of Spice Mobiles. Prior to joining the leadership team at SPICE Global, Vivek was with “Airtel” as Senior Vice President, Marketing & Consumer Business, since November 2003. Before Airtel he worked as a Consultant, International Business Development with Bristol Myers Squibb, USA, in the year 2002. |
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Rajiv Agarwal CEO and Director, The MobileStore Limited He has rolled out The MobileStore Limited venture which is currently the largest telecom retailer in the country with over 450 stores and growing, in a short span of time. The plan is to have 2500 stores in 2 years across 600 cities, thereby covering virtually every major town across India. He has been with the Essar group since 1998 and has been part of the Senior Management cadre working across group companies. He joined the group as COO - Essar Telecom and later worked as Executive Director - Essar Shipping. He has also anchored the BPO and Telecom Infrastructure business before getting into retail. He has successfully led businesses as CEO since 1992 and has served on the Board of Directors of public listed companies in India and United States of America. He has more than 20 years’ experience in various industries like BPO, Telecom, Manmade fibers, Shipping and Transportation and Oil and Gas. He has the credit of having negotiated and established several joint ventures with leading international organizations. He is a Chartered Accountant, Costs and Works Accountant and a qualified Company Secretary. |
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Claus Walther Jensen MD, Change, Denmark |
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Pradeep Hirani Chairman, Kimaya Fashion Pvt. Ltd. Pradeep Hirani is the Chairman of Kimaya Fashion Pvt. Ltd. An MBA graduate in Finance from Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai. Pradeep always had his eye on designer couture as a high-growth segment and in 2002 with his better half Neha Hirani went into it full swing and today 5 years down, the Hirani's fledgling flagship “Kimaya Studio” has swelled to three establishments in Mumbai, Delhi and the shoppers Mecca of Dubai. Kimaya's credentials are impeccable, having been the largest buyer at the India Fashion Week for 3 years running. In October 2005 he and his wife collaboratively launched India's first multi-designer menswear store in Mumbai Ayamik (an anagram of Kimaya). Ayamik is a mirror image of Kimaya, commercially and otherwise. Pradeep Hirani has been on the governing Board of Mumbai's eminent fashion institutes such as SNDT College (EMC Division) and Sophia College of Fashion, besides being on the Jury for graduating students of prestigious institutions such as NIFT, NID, SNDT, Empire Institute, Wigan and Leigh, GSPS, and many others. Apart from his company employing nearly 135 people, He has sought to promote new talent. He has started a 6-month training programme at Kimaya where young fashion graduates showcase their designs at a fashion show sponsored by Kimaya Fashions. |
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Vijayant Chabbra ED, Archies Innovation consists in looking at the same thing as everyone else is thinking of something different is what he believes. Adhering to this belief with the support and consensus of other board member he was a leading pioneer in setting up company stores to build up the brand image of Archies. Today the company boasts of 125 company stores & 350 franchisees. With the retail boom in full swing the company stores are located strategically in the Malls to satiate the impulsive needs of the Gen – X buyer. With the gradual focus growing in gifts today an Archies Gallery is a fiesta in terms of gift galore to the penchant shopper. From small nick knacks ranging from Rs. 25/- to gifts worth Rs. 25,000/- is what is available on the platter for the excited customers. Retailing in India saw a heightened momentum in the last few years, today in the era of booming retail sector, Archies being a leader in social expression industry has already joined hand with big format retail stores in India. In the beginning of year February 2006, Archies joined hand with first landmark store (Tata group) in Chennai, provided them some stationery and greeting cards products. After that we had tie-up with Reliance Retail India ,Spencers,Aditya Birla Retails,Odessey retails,Oxford Books stores,Shopprite, Pantaloon,Big Bazar. Now days it becomes a routine process with many big stores to keeping seasonal products in every occasion. We have one more category under a brand name "Stupid Cupid" which is specialized in fashion jewellery & accessories. The journey of Archies, which started with Greeting Cards and then moved to gifts, has turned towards the apparel business now. The company is selling T-shirts branded as Archies Ginger Lemon Masala Tees. These will sport captions such as "Don't Give Me Attitude --- I have my own" & Don't read this ---- Get your own T-shirt". The t-shirts will be priced between Rs. 325/- to Rs. 399/-. These products are targeted at 18-25 years old. We have one more category under a brand name "DESIGN WE", which is specialized in Wrist Watches & Men’s accessories. This works as shop-in-shop within Archies and in all Big format stores. According to Mr. Chhabra, "Coming together is beginning, keeping together is process, working together is success." |
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Tejpavan Singh Gandhok (Pavan) Co-founder and CEO, Lite Bite Foods Tejpavan Singh Gandhok (Pavan) is co-founder and CEO of Lite Bite Foods; a high growth new venture focused on chain Restaurants & Food courts. He has over 18 years of international Senior Partner level experience in Country & Regional Head roles across Australia, US, South East & Middle East Asia with Strategy consulting & Private Equity firms such as Halycon, AT Kearney, Stern Stewart & co. and the Boston Consulting Group. He has advised many Indian and International corporate clients on their organized retail entry and growth strategies. He has done his MBA from UCLA and a BE Chem. Engg from Univ. of Melbourne. |
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Rajesh Kumar DIRECTOR- BUSINESS PLNG & STR, Microsoft Rajesh Kumar is the Head of Business Strategy and Planning for the small and medium businesses (SMBs) segment at Microsoft India. Rajesh is responsible for developing and implementing strategies for Microsoft to establish its leadership as the trusted software solutions provider to SMBs in India. Rajesh joined Microsoft in 2001 and has since then driven a number of SMB initiatives in his various roles in SMS&P Business division. Prior to this assignment he served as Director, Marketing (SMB) for over two years since 2007. Before joining Microsoft, Rajesh was Head of Web Solutions at HCL InfiNet – HCL’s internet venture. Rajesh has an experience of over 15 years in sales & marketing career across internet, consumer goods and industrial automobiles with organizations, including Perfetti, HCL & Seagram. He graduated from REC Kurukshetra with a Bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering (1988), following which he obtained a Masters degree in Business Management from Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (1994). He and his wife Vandana currently live with their daughter Lavanya, in Delhi. During his free time, Rajesh enjoys travelling, reading and painting. |
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Atul Ahuja SGM, Apollo Pharmacy As Senior General Manager at the 850-outlet Apollo Pharmacy, Atul Ahuja leads the strategic initiatives and merchandising functions with responsibilities for existing as well as newer opportunities, procurement strategy for 3000+ SKU's across 8 major non pharma product categories, and private lablel initiative acrros 8 product categories with 50+products. With over 15 years of experience, Atul has worked with MNC like Oracle, Quark, KSA and with established Indian business houses in both functional management as well as in start-up projects. Atul's experience spreads across development of retail business strategy & business plans, followed up with implementation that included feasibility studies, formulation of the operating processes, selection of retail system, development of merchandise planning system, recruitment, store rollout, implementation of retail performance enhancement initiatives etc. across formats. Atul is an MBA from IIFT, New Delhi and holds a Diploma in Fashion Technology from National Institute of Fashion Technology, New Delhi, India. He earned his Bachelor's in Commerce from Delhi University. |
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Sameer Akhil Kachru Director - Marketing Services, RHW Hotel Management Services Ltd. Sameer Kachru has a profound experience of 10 years while working in the various capacities in marketing. He started his career working in the marketing team with Radisson Edwardian Hotels in London for their European marketing activities. In his present designation as the Marketing Director, Sameer is responsible for overseeing the marketing teams of Radisson Hotels, Park Plaza Hotels and Country Inns & Suites, and preparing and implementing national marketing plans. He is also the Brand Leader of Superstars, Indo-American casual dining restaurant under the same group. Among his various achievements, Sameer is well-known for being the founder member of the World's first Video Jukebox “I Cube”, which received the IT product of the year award by HT in 2003. He worked extensively with McDonalds, Café Coffee Day & Reliance for this venture. He also headed Meragana.com and supplied Ring Back Tones for mobiles to Telecom companies across India along with the online karaoke business. He is a Gold Medalist in MSc Marketing from the University Of Bradford, UK and bagged the award “Best Marketing Student” for entire UK in 2002. |
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Ratan Jalan Founder & Principal Consultant, Medium Healthcare Consulting Pvt Ltd Ratan Jalan is an acknowledged expert in franchising, marketing and healthcare. He founded Medium Healthcare Consulting in January 2009 when he realized the need for bold and innovative solutions in the Indian healthcare sector. For about a decade, Ratan was the CEO of Apollo Health and Lifestyle Limited, part of the Apollo Hospitals Group. He has set up a nationwide chain of The Apollo Clinics and The Cradle, a revolutionary concept in maternity care. He also led key marketing initiatives and international forays for the group. Mr. Jalan has over three decades of experience across diverse industries and functional responsibilities. He started in the IT industry with HCL Technologies and then moved to advertising at Lintas. During his ten years there, he set up and headed the integrated marketing division and worked on leading Indian and international brands. In 1996, he set up Asian Health Services – a JV with the Fortune 500 Company ServiceMaster – as its President. Asian Health Services soon became the most respected healthcare consulting and architecture firm in the country with a large number of blue-chip clients. He was awarded the Marketing Impact Award by S P Jain Institute of Management and has been nominated as one of the 50 most influential professionals in retailing. Recently, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame at Franchise Awards 2008 for the success of The Apollo Clinic initiative. He is also a frequent speaker at leading management institutes in the country and various industry forums. He is an alumnus of IIT Kharagpur and Harvard Business School. |
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Aloke Banerjee CEO, Rosebys Alok Banerjee has almost a decade of experience with the Tata Group starting his career as a Management Trainee before progressing to become a Sales & Marketing Manager. Subsequently he moved to Britannia Industries Limited. In 2000 he was elevated to the position of Marketing Manager and helped launch various brands. He served as the Head of the Domestic Business of Bombay Dyeing and Manufacturing Co. Limited and was instrumental in handling and rejuvenating 400 exclusive showrooms of the brand. His initiative helped the company receive the best Home and Lifestyle retailer of the year award from ICICI at Retail Summit 2007 as well as the Lifestyle retailer of the year at the Images Fashion Forum. Mr. Banerjee also worked as the CEO for S. Kumars Nationwide Limited for one of their verticals. In 2008, Mr. Banerjee joined as CEO of Rosebys London, UK's largest specialist textiles and home furnishings retail chain, acquired by GHCL in 2006, for operation & expansion with a target of 500 stores by 2010 in India. |
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Anup Bagchi Executive Director, ICICI Securities Ltd Anup Bagchi is Executive Director at ICICI Securities Ltd, the largest integrated securities firm covering the needs of corporate and retail customers through investment banking, institutional broking, retail broking and financial product distribution businesses. Mr. Bagchi was recently honoured with The Asian Banker Promising Young Banker Award. Business Today has named Mr. Anup Bagchi as one of India's Hottest Young Executives. During his tenure of 15 years with ICICI Bank, Mr. Bagchi has held many key positions in field of Retail Banking, Corporate Banking and Treasury. Mr. Bagchi holds a Management degree in Finance from IIM, Bangalore and also an engineering degree from IIT Kanpur. |
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Uday Mathur MD, Eurokids An Engineer and an IIM Kolkata, graduate has more than 20 years work experience as a Sales and Marketing professional in consumer product organisations. He has specialised in the ‘Kids’ market niche and his previous assignment was as General Manger Marketing at TI Cycles of India. Mr. Mathur’s responsibilities included Long Term Strategic Planning, National Sales Management, New Product Development and Brand Launches. In 1997, he was assigned the task of setting up the Joint Venture between Egmont International Holdings, Denmark and Indian Express, Mumbai, as CEO. He has led the enterprise as a professional manager and subsequently as an entrepreneur. Eurokids, today operates in two business areas – Pre-School education and Children’s Publishing and is a leader in both these segments. |
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Jay Gupta Managing Director, The Loot As early as 1996 post completion of his graduation from S.I.E.S. College in Mumbai, he started his pursuit to set up a thriving business. He conceptualised & set up the first THE LOOT store in mid 2004 - A multi brand discount store. The concept was well accepted & supported by both the customers & business associates. Soon there was an increase in the numbers and the chain now has 140 stores (300000 sq. ft. retail carpet area) till date throughout the country. Mr Gupta has experienced working with most desired brands in the country. He realised the need to bring on board professionals to run The LOOT. He has recruited some of the best talents in the retail industry today. Mr Gupta has been awarded various accolades like: "Star Entrepreneur Award", "Critics choice for Pioneering Effort in Retail Concept Creation", "Young Retail Achiever of the Year Award, "Star Youth Achiever Award etc. at various award functions. He also won the "TATA NEN Hottest Start up award", making the Loot the most sought after multi brand store. Mr. Gupta has been the first generation retail entrepreneur and has been an active Charter member in TiE. He has also been quite active in mentoring students of various MBA colleges across the country especially on entrepreneurship. He has recently been approached by the Asia Retail Congress 2009 to be a part of their advisory board. |
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Naveen Rakhecha CEO, South Asia, Cartridge World Naveen Rakhecha has career spans over 18 years across the sectors like banking, office automation, logistics, retailing and franchising. But from the last 10 years he has been devotedly involved in franchising. He was responsible for bringing Cartridge World to South Asia, which has revolutionised the printer cartridges market. Naveen has been with AFL Pvt. Ltd. since 1996 and was the key driver in initially setting-up and successfully launching various new businesses including AFL Wiz Express, the domestic express business, AFL Forex and Touchworld, India’s first convenience services chain of retail stores. One of his major successes was the network conversion of DHL who were partners of AFL Pvt. Ltd. then, to a complete franchising model in a record time of eight months. Naveen was responsible for appointing the first franchisee in Darjeeling way back in 1996. He also successfully expanded the Western Union Money Transfer franchisee network 10-folds (5000+ locations) in a period of a mere two and a half years. Naveen is a certified sales trainer and enjoys conducting training programs, especially on selling skills and sales processes. He hails from a business family, and thus believes that business acumen comes naturally to him. The business has won many hearts and awards viz like Best Business Concept of the year- 2007” by Franchise India, New Concept in Franchising – 2008” by Franchise Association of India, Best in Category – Business Services –2008” by The Franchising World, Jury Special Award for Retail Excellence- 2009” by Asia Retail Congress. He also won the “Star Youth Achiever” award by Global Youth Marketing Forum for his good work & contribution to Industry. |
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N. P. Singh Director, Samsonite N.P. Singh has been associated with Samsonite Retail since it's first step in to organised retail in Year 2000. He initiated the retail project in India & personally selected and set up more than 150 Samsonite brand stores (including approx 25 company managed stores and balance through franchisees). He designed training programmes for the franhcisees and model to be adopted to manage day to day operations successfully. On seeing the success of retail in India, the Europe headquarter extended the additional countries of South Asia to guide them on entire retail project developments & since then Singh has been covering... Middle East, SAARC countries including Pakistan, Ujbekistan, Mongolia etc... |
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Charu Sachdev Managing Director, TSG International Marketing Pvt. Ltd A lawyer by profession, she is younger daughter of Mr. Ashok Sachdev and has a Masters in Intellectual property law. However she saw the potential of the Indian market and decided to venture into Retail. She has been credited with bringing top Luxury/Fashion Brands into India as the master franchisee. She is already being recognized and respected in the Indian Retail Circle. She created a landmark with the launch of Tommy Hilfiger (New Delhi & NCR), Moschino, Jean Paul Gaultier and Alberta Ferretti in India. |
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Akhil Chaturvedi Chairman, Provogue Akhil Chaturvedi, a Whole-time Director, is a Science graduate and holds a Masters Degree in Management Studies from S. P. Jain Institute of Management Studies. He is the founder member of Provogue (India) Limited and is currently looking after Corporate Planning, technology and supply chain function of the Company. He has varied experience in the field of Marketing of FMCG and has worked with leading MNC's and Indian companies over a span of 9 years in companies such as WIMCO Limited, Balsara, Ion Exchange India. He has been responsible for successful launch of many brands like Promise, Zero B etc. Akhil has broad experience in the field of Marketing of FMCG products. Prior to Provogue, he has worked with leading MNC's and Indian companies over a span of a decade and has also worked with Coopers & Lybrand Consulting Group. |
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Kiran Nadkarni MD, Kati Zone Kiran Nadkarni, CEO, Kaati Zone has been a pioneering figure in the Indian venture capital industry. He started the venture capital business of ICICI and managed it during the first eight years. Later, he was a partner at Draper International, a venture firm based in San Francisco, which invested in India and the US. Prior to starting the Kaati Zone venture, he was a co-founder of Jumpstartup, a venture firm that invested in technology businesses both in India and the US. During his career, he helped several entrepreneurial businesses by providing start-up and early-stage capital and brought the initial successes of venture capital industry to public markets. In 2004, Kiran founded East West Ethnic Foods Pvt. Ltd. (brand: Kaati Zone). The company is building the first concept in quick service restaurants (QSR) chain specializing in Indian foods. The company presently has operations in Bangalore and is now expanding to other cities in southern and western regions of the country. Kiran is a chemical engineer from IIT Kanpur and holds a post-graduate diploma in management from University of Mumbai. |
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Pranav Ansal Vice Chairman and MD, Ansal Properties |
| Rajendra Gupta |
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| Vijay Bobba CEO & MD, Loyalty Solutions and Research Ltd. Founding CEO and Managing Director at Loyalty Solutions and Research Limited (LSRL), Vijay Bobba is the pioneer of i-mint, India’s first and largest customer rewards program. Bobba has more than 20 years of Silicon Valley entrepreneurial experience. He has worked with global companies in the high-tech, telecom, financial services, consumer electronics, retail and publishing industries in the US, Europe, India and Japan. Alumni of University of California, Berkeley, Bobba has proven experience in building new businesses and in re-positioning existing businesses. On the path to creation of LSRL, Bobba co-founded Loyalty Solutions Corp., a company with dual focus on the US and India markets. Leading the effort in pioneering the expansion of loyalty market in India, he evangelised the concept of Coalition Loyalty and assisted in bringing together large businesses across various verticals to provide fillip to the industry. Under his leadership, i-mint has seen multiple fold growth in merchant base, member base as well as transaction volume. Most recently, Bobba co-authored a chapter on marketing & sales in ‘First Mile’---a primer on entrepreneurship. |
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| Nandini Vaidyanathan Mentor-Promoter, Startups Professor Nandini Vaidyanathan, an alumnus of Delhi School of Economics and London School of Economics, spent 20 years in the corporate sector with MNC’S all over the world. She has worked in a cross-section of industries, ranging from security, media, pharma, gas, office automation, equity market and animation. She is India’s leading strategist in crisis management and has been associated with corporations and governments in sensitive negotiations and settlements. She is also one of the original proponents of outsourcing, having set up call centres, nearly thirteen years ago for a TNC in UK (British Gas). She has been teaching Entrepreneurship and International Biz at premier Business schools in India, US , and UK such as IIM-B, Princeton, and London School of Economics, for the last three years. She is Mentor-Promoter of a company called Startups which mentors young entrepreneurs with management inputs. Her clients include cutting edge technology companies in the telecom sector, software companies with applications in hospitality and group networking, advertising agencies, publishing houses and construction materials companies. Startups is also actively involved with micro finance institutions in facilitating biz models in the micro enterprise development space that transcend poverty lines and loan recovery. She has been working with socio-economic aggregations in economies as plural as India, Afghanistan and the Sub-Saharan Region. She is on the Board of several companies. She has published articles and book reviews in leading international journals. She has written a series of books on entrepreneurship which will be in print early next year. Nandini also hosts talk and chat shows on World Space Radio. |
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Rajeev B. Sharma Country Head, Unicon Financial Intermediaries (P) Ltd. Mr. Rajev B. Sharma is the country head of Unicon Financial Intermediaries P Ltd and also looks after the Wealth Management, PCG, Corporate, NRI and PMS businesses. A noted Management professional and technocrat, Mr. Rajev sharma has over 16 years of experience in Strategy planning, Business Development ,Operations, Man Management and Profit Centre Management . He has worked in diverse industries like Manufacturing, Consumer Durables, Consultancy, Education & Training, HR and Financial Services. Prior to joining The Unicon group, Mr. Rajeev was associated with Motilal Oswal Securities Ltd. as Sr. Vice President & Head-BAG where he was spearheading the Business and Strategy of the group. Under his successful leadership, Motilal Oswal Securities Ltd has been awarded the 'Best Franchise In financial service sector 'for 2 consecutive years 2007 & 2008. |
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Arun Khetan Director, Maks Mr. Arun Kumar Khetan brings along with him a vast experience in the field of franchising. He has been instrumental in re-defining franchising as a successful business model across the country. A Chartered Accountant' with 20+ years of chronicle success driving benchmark, strong management & entrepreneurial skills, steered his way up the ladder, managing key positions in varied premium companies he worked for. His last assignment was as “President (Education Projects)” with Educomp Solutions Ltd. During his tenure as CEO Zee Interactive Learning Systems Ltd., he not only pioneered in conceptualizing & corporatizing the pre-school segment but have successfully conceptualized and introduce business/ franchise models of childcare, schools and other models in education industry. Kidzee, Kidzcare, Kidzeehigh & ZIMA are his brain child & turned 'Roots to Wings” a successful pre-school chain in a period of less than a year with Educomp. Under his leadership he could not only conceptualize and introduce a number of products in education industry with their franchise models, but could successfully role out -almost a 1000+ franchisee units across India and abroad. He is also a much sought-after speaker on franchising and education in India & abroad. His experience and research inspires and informs people about the true potential of “FRANCHISING” & the future of education business. |
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Sean Philpott Chief Executive Officer, Spa Siam, Thailand Throughout his career Sean Philpott has shown his immense ability in steering and integrating sales operation through amazing target achievement and initiating strategies for start-ups. Prior to joining Thailand-based health and wellness products manufacturer, Spa Siam, Sean worked at a various MNCs, including Nokia, HSBC and Colgate Palmolive, as a sales professional in various capacities. Sean is an MBA with a spcialisation in Sales & Marketing from Swinburne College Australia. |
| Balvinder Singh Ahluwalia President, Koutons Retail India Ltd. Mr.B.S.Ahluwalia President, Koutons Retail is the core member of the organization. As a President of the company, his prime responsibility is to monitor and increase the current retail business. His role includes developing and implementations of all business activities, replenishment of merchandise and maintenance of stores. Mr. Balvinder has been responsible for developing, managing, and ensuring successful relationships with potential and existing franchisees in his former organizations. Being a chief member of Koutons, he is responsible for overall profitability of the organization, increasing brand recall and image of the brand. Under his leadership, two brands have been launched- Les Femme and Koutons Jr. Also, he is planning strategies resulted into the launch of shoe range and inner wear of Koutons recently. His various skills are used for product development, launch of large format stores, team building and manpower training. Mr. Balvinder Ahluwalia firmly believes in the importance of creativity and innovation which is essential for growth of any organization in rising competitive world and so people admire him in the corporate sector for his entrepreneur skills. Mr. Ahluwalia has twenty years of experience in marketing, Sales & Distribution, People Development in Industrial and Retail Sectors at both regional as well as National level, Production Planning & Control, Product Development and New Business Development. His experience in textile industry is widely used for product development. He is an exceptional peoples' leader who feel the pulse of consumers faster through analytical acumen and guides his team accordingly. He has played an important role in expanding retail networks for the company. |
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D.P.S Kohli Chairman, Koutons Retail India Ltd. Koutons Retail India Ltd. the leading retail apparel brand in India today stands at a level only because of the farsightedness of its Chairman, Mr. DPS Kohli, the founding pillar of Koutons. He made his first mark in the apparel industry after starting Charlie creations. A mechanical engineer by profession Mr. Kohli the retail magnet of India initially had been involved with his family business of retailing bicycles, electrical and electronic goods in Orissa. His drive towards excellence brought him to Delhi and he started an export garment business. In 1982 he again shifted to the electronics industry and started manufacturing his own branded television "Apollo". It was Mr. Kohli’s analysis about a huge market untapped, which led to the formation of Koutons a menswear brand in the year 2002. With awards such as Udyog Vibhushan from the Institute of Trade and Industrial Development, Most Admired Fashion Face from the Images Lycra Fashion Awards 2008 and Best Retailer Leadership award from the Retail Congress, Mumbai in 2008 Mr. DPS Kohli truly personifies excellence driven by passion and integrity. |
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Kush Medhora COO, EWDPL Kush started his professional innings in retail thirteen years ago as operations manager Littlewoods International. Later he went on to become General Manager Operations at Trent and grew Westside brand of stores from 1 to 13. Subsequently he moved to Pantaloon Retail as Head - New Store Ventures, engaged in the challenging task of growing the Pantaloon brands cross country. He was successful in opening 4 million sq. ft. retail space, making Pantaloon Retail brands viz. Big Bazaar, Food Bazaar, Pantaloons and Central household names across the country. He then moved to a Subsidiary of the group, as Chief Operating Officer of Home Solutions Retail (India) Ltd where he was successful in conceptualizing and opening the Home format called Home Town, E zone and Collection I and Furniture Bazaar. He was subsequently promoted to the Chief Executive Officer Institutional Business for the Future Group. He was also on the Board of Directors for Asian Retail Lighting Ltd. and Home Lighting (India) Ltd. In his last assignment he was Executive Director with Desarch Pentacle Pvt. Ltd. Currently he is at Entertainment World Developers Pvt. Ltd (EWDPL), where his role as Chief Operating Officer is to manage TREASURE SHOWCASE, a partnership based, inclusive retail model that co-opts non mall retailers namely manufacturers with Brands into the arena of modern retail. He is also incharge of leasing of all the EWDPL malls Prior to his retail experience, his career spanned working with ITC, conceptualizing and bringing to market one of their edible oil brands and working as a management consultant for PricewaterhouseCoopers. |
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Gary Moore General Manager, Franchising, Minor Food Group Gary is the executive responsible for new market franchising for the Minor Food Group, one of Asia’s largest restaurant and hospitality groups. With it’s base of over 1,000 restaurants across Thailand, Middle East, China and South East Asia, Minor Food Group offers franchising opportunities for it’s Pizza Company flagship brand, as well as Swensen’s Ice Cream, The Coffee Club and Thai Express. A business graduate from Northern Ireland, Gary has extensive experience of working in international markets with over 20 years in the Middle East. Gary is based in the Dubai office of Minor Food Group and has been with the company for the last 5 years, having come to Minor from a senior management position with Coca-Cola and previously as Region Marketing head for Yum Restaurants Pizza Hut brand. |
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Ashish Kapur Managing Director, Yo! China Ashish Kapur is the Co-Founder & Managing Director of Yo! China. He has successfully developed India’s first and largest chain of Chinese restaurants. For his achievement in creating a national brand which offers an international experience, Ashish has been awarded various accolades like: ‘Best F&B Retailer-2008- Golden Spoon Award’; ‘Federation of Hotels & Restaurant Association of India - Young Restaurant Entrepreneur of the Year-2006’ ‘India Today – Young Achiever of 2006’, ‘CNBC – Young Turks’, ‘Brand Equity – Indigeneous’ etc. He is also a sought after speaker in various industry forms like FICCI, TiE, IRF, Franchise Association of India and at leadership seminars organized by leading international MBA schools like INSEAD Ashish is a graduate of electronics and telecom engineering from the prestigious McGill University in Canada where he was a recipient of the highest leadership award. He was picked up by GE Capital to be part of their Global Leadership Program and then worked for GE Capital across North America before returning to India to co-found Yo! China. |
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Sanjay Kapoor Managing Director – Genesis Colors & Genesis Luxury Banker turned entrepreneur – Sanjay Kapoor is the visionary behind the success story of Genesis Colors, the holding company for premier Indian designer brands - Satya Paul, Deepika Gehani, Samsaara and Bwitch. The company is widely regarded with having heralded the corporatisation of the Indian fashion industry. He also lead to the introduction of a slew of European luxury labels on Indian shores through Genesis Luxury, which markets and distributes brands such as Canali, Paul Smith, Kenzo, Just Cavalli, Bottega Veneta and Jimmy Choo in India. Widely recognized as one of the pioneers of fashion and luxury businesses in the country, Sanjay is a part of several trade bodies and organizations like the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) and is also associated with The Indus Entrepreneurs (TIE). He has received a number of awards for his innovative initiatives in retailing and organization of the fashion industry. An MBA from the University of Rochester, Sanjay enjoys golf, tennis, squash, reading and music. He enjoys traveling and is an avid art collector. |
| D. Bhaskar VP-Sales, Posiflex |
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Gulraj Shahpuri Director, Promise Gulraj Shahpuri has been involved in the field of education for the past few years, customizing international methods of teaching towards the needs of Indian children. The inspiration for this educationalist comes from his own studies, in which he strived to be the best in his field. He is a gold-medalist from one of the top Business faculties in Canada: Simon Fraser University, where he received a number of recognitions and awards, helping in research for well-published professors. Having a centre centrally located in GK I, he has worked extensively with students from all parts of Delhi, 2006 saw the advent of centers in Noida and Rohini, with upcoming centers through out India. |
| Vinay Nadkarni CEO, Globus |
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| Gowree Gokhale Partner, Nishith Desai Associates Ms. Gowree Gokhale heads the IP, technology, media and entertainment law practice of the multi-skilled, research-based international law firm, Nishith Desai Associates. Her specializations also include litigation and dispute resolution, franchising, pharma and life sciences laws, commercial laws, HR laws. Ms. Gokhale has led several IP, technology and HR litigations. She is involved in patent oppositions and devising patent litigation strategies for clients. She has assisted international media and productions houses and pharmaceutical companies in structuring of their India operations, including IP structuring, and advice on regulatory issues. She has spearheaded several M & A transactions in the media and entertainment space. She specializes in structuring of cross border outsourcing and franchising arrangements and has negotiated several transactions both for Indian and MNC clients. Ms. Gokhale is a Solicitor and a registered Patent & Trade Mark attorney and has been practicing for the last 13 years. She is a visiting faculty at Institute of Intellectual Property Law Studies at Mumbai. She is a regular speaker at Nasscom TLF seminars on technology contracts, CII on enforcement of IP in India. |
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| Sudeep Malhotra CEO, Homshop TV 18 |
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| Deepa Thomas VP, EBAY - India |
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Ninad Kapre CEO, Aptech Ninad has had an eclectic career. He started his working career as a Consultant specializing in advising companies seeking to invest in India. During this stint, he authored several books and wrote many papers and articles. He joined CA (Computer Associates) 11 years ago when it started operations in India and was Managing Director (India & SAARC) for the past 7 years. Since February 2009, he has joined Aptech Ltd. and is now the CEO & MD. He writes a regular BLOG (www.reformingeducation.in) and is an independent director on the Board of a few public companies. |
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Tarun Joshi Managing Director, Brandhouse Retails Ltd With over 20 years experience in the fields of marketing, communication and retail at the age of 46, Mr. Joshi been associated with leading multinationals & well-known Indian business houses. He has travelled across the world & is very familiar with the international working environment. Currently, Tarun is the Managing Director of Brandhouse Retails Ltd. the company which manages the retailing for Reid & Taylor, Carmichael House, Belmonte, Stephens Brothers & dunhill. Tarun has been a panelist on leading Indian & domestic business forums and has participated in various roundtables of the industry. He is on the advisory board for Luxury Marketing Council's India Chapter. Tarun’s career highlights in retail include, managing a unique retailing model, managing retailing across various categories , and across various price segments. He is also associated with Pioneering work in Indian Luxury Fashion Market, including, the concept of Luxury High Street to combat the dearth of Luxury Retail Locations – Using heritage properties for Luxury Retailing, the concept of Social Ambassadors ( Karan Johar for dunhill), Escada, the first women’s Luxury Brand to set up 3 stores in India. |
| Shri Krishan Head-SME, TATA-AIG A dynamic professional with over 6 years of experience in Sales & Marketing, Underwriting, Business Development, Operations Administration, Client Relationship Management and Team Management. Currently associated with Tata AIG General Insurance Company Pvt. Ltd., as Profit Centre (SME) – Property and Casualty (North region). Was part of Core team at start up of Religare Insurance Broking Ltd. (A Ranbaxy Promoter Group Company) and have solid 3 years of hard core experience in Royal Sundaram Alliance Insurance Company Ltd., as Commercial Underwriter - (Northern Regional office). Beside strong technical knowledge have done complete maping of the north region. Have devised calculators for automated and customised insurance products. Have gained expertise in profitability reports accounts specific / line specific. |
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Major K. V. Rajan Executive Director, Veta Global Having 15 years of experience into franchising, Major Rajan is presently working as an Executive Director Veta global. A post graduate in English and Education specialized in Educational technology, an avid sports lover and a serious educationist with entrepreneurial skills. Traveled extensively across the globe, Mr. Rajan loves meeting people. He also has great love for reading and has all the ears for pop and classical music. Having served in the army, he finds thrill in taking challenges and strongly believes in good sustained cordial relationship with franchise business associates by mentoring and being open to criticisms/corrections. He has an eye for excellent service delivery and believes in team accomplishments. |
| Safir Anand Partner, Anand & Anand |
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| Andy Yun MD, Manchester United, Singapore |
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Pradeep Gupta Chairman, Cybermedia Group Pradeep Gupta is the Chairman of the CyberMedia Group, South Asia's first and largest specialty media house, with 15 publications, 12 websites, 100+ events and TV programs in the InfoTech, telecom, consumer electronics & biotech areas. CyberMedia’s brands include Dataquest, PCQuest, Voice&Data, BioSpectrum and Global Services. The group's media services include market research (IDC India), content outsourcing & distribution. CyberMedia is a public company. Gupta is also an angel investor. He is the ex-chairman of PanIIT India; Member of the IIT Delhi Advisory Council; Founder Director, Indian Angel Networks; President of TiE, Delhi; President of Association of Indian Magazines and, Chairman, Technology & Modernization Committee, Indian Newspaper Society (INS). He is the recipient of the distinguished alumni award of IIT Delhi and the Helen Keller award for working in the disability sector. Gupta is an Engineer from IIT Delhi and an MBA from IIM Calcutta. Cyber Media (India) Limited: CyberMedia is South Asia's first and largest specialty media house, with 15 publications, 12 websites, 100+ events, and TV programs in infotech, telecom, biotech, legal, consumer electronics and entrepreneurship. The company’s brands include Dataquest, PCQuest, Voice&Data, BioSpectrum, Global Services, etc. The group's media services include market research (IDC India), content outsourcing and distribution. CyberMedia is a public company. |
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Alkesh MD, Refeel |
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Vijay Abhimanyu MD, Billion Smiles Hospitality Pvt. Ltd At 21, Vijay Abhimanyu, MD, Billion Smiles Hospitality (BSH) Pvt. Ltd has taken the lead in building two successful brands – South Indies and Bon South. Abhimanyu brings to the table energy of a youth, streamlined by maturity well beyond his age. He has been instrumental in realising the vision behind BSH. He has been spearheading this venture from the age of 19, thereby, becoming one of the youngest entrepreneurs in the country. The vision of creating a scalable hospitality venture caught his imagination while assisting his father. Vijay personally oversees the planning and execution of new projects. He critically evaluates and helps better the operation. Vijay’s dream is to build a world class, highly scalable hospitality venture based out of India and make it an international brand and thereby, take South Indian cuisine to the world. |
| Amol Admiral |
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Dr. M. Naz President, Medi Travels |
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Sarup Chowdhary Director & CEO, Reliance Webstore Ltd. Sarup Chowdhary is a graduate of IIT, Delhi in Chemical Engineering with specialization in High Polymers. He has over 30 years of professional experience in manufacturing, project management, sales & marketing with large Indian corporate & multinationals. His last two assignments include Director, Marketing on the Board of IPCL and Managing Director & C.E.O. of General Electric (GE) Plastics India. For the last 5 years as Director & C.E.O. of Reliance Webstore Ltd., he has been responsible for planning, project, execution and later operations of Reliance World – a unique & successful retail chain of Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group with 240 retail outlets in 105 cities. |
| Balakrishnan Gopalakrishnan Director, Velava Business Solutions Pvt. Ltd Balakrishnan Gopalakrishnan fondly called Bala in the Retail industry is currently a Director at Velava Business Solutions Private Limited. It is a value oriented business solutions firm based out of Pondicherry. He has served as a Customer Care Associate and Chief Executive Officer at STeMS India. Gopalakrishnan has a successful consulting experience with Valdel Retail Private limited for new projects as well as for a Swiss based apparel brand for its Indian operations retail business process re-engineering. He has also worked as a Buyer for the Apparel business division - Splash at Lifestyle International Private Limited and an Assistant Category Manager at Pantaloon Retail India. He is Advisor - Retail at Pearl Academy of Fashion - Chennai for its Post graduate Retail Programs. He is a co-founder of MaPS Retail Resources and serves as Lead Consultant - on Retail Merchandising related engagements of its clients since the inception. He is a member of Gerson Lehrman Group., New York. He is a qualified Textile Technologist from P.S.G college of Technology, Coimbatore and a Post Graduate from NIFT - New Delhi. |
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| Sandeep Kulhalli Sandeep Kulhalli, is a BSc (Chemistry) from Fergusson College, Pune and has completed his Post Graduate in Management from Symbiosis, Pune (1982). Most of his working experience has been in Sales & Marketing. He started work Sales Executive at Electronica Sales & Service, Mumbai, for 3 years, followed by a Marketing stint at Khimline Pumps Ltd, as marketing Executive for another 3 years. He then joined as Area Sales Manager with Titan Industries ltd, in 1988, and handled Sales Operations in MP and Vidharbha, later moved to Calcutta as ASM, WB and NE, launched Timex in the East as Sales Manager, and completed the stint, as Sales Manager for Titan, for East Region. From 1994, handled the North Region as Regional Manager, for all business. He moved to Corp office at Bangalore, in 2004, as Business Head-Customer Service, later headed the Retailing Business Group for the Watches Div, subsequently headed International Business for the Co, and now as Vice President-Retail & Marketing Tanishq, manages the Flagship Brand Tanishq for India and Overseas. He has over 20 years experience with Titan Industries, across geographies and Businesses, covering Sales, Distribution, Retail and Business Operations, as Profit centre Head. |
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Vineet Kanaujia GM – Marketing, Safexpress Vineet Kanaujia joined Safexpress over 2 years ago. Since then he has made a colossal contribution to the growth of the company. In a relatively short time-span he has succeeded in firmly positioning ‘Brand Safexpress’ as the Market Leader as well as Knowledge Leader in the Supply Chain & Logistics industry. Kanaujia completed his MBA in marketing from Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi. He did his Bachelors in Engineering from MMM Engineering College, Gorakhpur. He started his career with HCL Infosystems and went on to work with Conagra Foods. Later, worked as Head – Marketing for Samsung. With a rich experience of over a decade, Kanaujia is a well-known name in the industry. He regularly writes for numerous newspapers and magazines on a variety of subjects. |
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Joseph Sam Corporate Advisor, Pearl Academy) and Director, Vedact Advisors Joseph Sam is currently the Corporate Advisor, Pearl Academy and Director, Vedact Advisors. His key skills include business development, partnerships and negotiations, incubation of businesses including P&L responsibilities and marketing/ sales programme execution. He has advised various firms especially in the soft goods and retail sector in the areas of marketing, business development, branding and partnerships. He has worked with consulting firms, which includes KSA Technopak, Magnum etc. He has worked at Plant Lipids, Weekender and as the CEO of Rohit Bal & Balance. He is a Post Graduate in Marketing Management from Pondicherry University, a Post Graduation from N.I.F.T., New Delhi, a B.Tech in Production and Industrial Engineering from University of Kerala. He has a Diploma in Advertising and PR, is a Certified Negotiator, certified in Change Management. He is a member of the Institute of Management Consultants, India. |
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Dwijorani Senjam Director & Co-founder, EXTEND Brands Dwijorani Senjam is the Director & Co-founder of EXTEND Brands, India’s first independent Licensing Agency. Dwijorani is one of the pioneers in independent brand licensing in India and started in early 2001 by representing global companies like King Features, Paws Inc. and Hit Entertainment to handle brands like Popeye, Garfield and Bob the Builder. Prior to co-founding EXTEND Brands, Dwijorani was with Viacom India where she initiated the licensing programs of their multi-billion dollar brands SpongeBob SquarePants & Dora The Explorer, in India. After establishing a successful licensing operation for Nickelodeon, Dwijorani decided to pursue her entrepreneurial dreams to start EXTEND Brands. Dwijorani is a regular commentator on licensing in India and has participated in international events like the New York Licensing show. Dwijorani also contributes articles on Licensing both in Indian and global publications. Dwijorani graduated from Sophia Girls College and has an MBA from Amity Business School. |
| Francesca Ash Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, Total Licensing Francesca Ash became involved in the licensing industry in 1979 when she co-organised the first-ever character merchandising conference and exhibition. In the 1980s she became the first non-American officer of LIMA - the industry's trade association - a position she held for two years. Acknowledged as an expert in licensing on a worldwide basis, she is responsible for Total Licensing Ltd's editorial and has regularly addressed seminars and conferences around the world. Total Licensing magazine has grown in six years to have readers in 103 countries and an advertiser base from nearly 30 countries. The magazine carries features, news, data and analysis from around the world and, additionally, is regularly distributed at trade fairs and events in all continents. In addition she is responsible for The Total Licensing Report, a weekly online newsletter covering the world of licensing and merchandising, Total Licensing Australia, a magazine dedicated to licensing in Australasia, and Total Art Licensing, a magazine dedicated to art and design licensing. |
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Rahiv Sangari MD & CEO, Kids Media India Rajiv Sangari began his career more than 17 years ago in sales. His personal areas of expertise include sales & marketing and business development. Rajiv has held professional positions with Usha International (a part of the Siddharth Shriram Group), The Times of India in institutional sales. Rajiv joined in BPL Mobile Communications, just at the time when Mobile industry in India commenced and headed the BPL Mobile Galleries in Mumbai. Rajiv then switched over to Business Standard newspaper and headed its West and South India circulation divisions. Rajiv entered in the industry of animation through Pentamedia in Jan 2001, and then moved on to Padmalaya Studios of the Zee Telefilms group. Rajiv has contributed towards marketing first four animations films produced in India made by Pentamedia. During his tenure with Padmalaya, the organization acquired ISO certification. He also headed the ZICA (Zee Institute of Creative Arts), as the Director of the Academy and made it as one of the most premium Animation Academy in India. Rajiv has co-promoted Kids Media India Pvt Ltd which is a subsidiary of Spacetoon Media Group from Dubai since June 2005 and since January 2007 heads its SAARC and South East Asia operations. In a span of 3 years, Rajiv has nurtured Spacetoon to emerge as one of the sought after companies in the kids genre, creating a complete 360 degree intergrated models like Broadcasting by launching Spacetoon Kids TV channel, leading Licensing Agency for some of the worlds top Licensors, Kids Merchandising company, Kids Publishing house and also a leading Kids Distribution company catering to more than 18,000 retail touch points all over India. He holds post graduate degree in Economics from the University of Mumbai and is married with two sons. Rajiv was one of the promoters of APAI (Animation Producers Association of India). |
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Navin Shah CEO - Percept Picture Company, P9 Integrated Navin Shah is the Chief Executive Officer of Percept Picture Company (PPC), one of the leading content companies in India. Alongside, Navin also holds the office of CEO at P9 Integrated, the Entertainment Marketing Division of Percept Limited that provides tailor-made solutions to motion pictures, entertainment products and television content functions as a 360o service support. Armed with a MBA from Institute of Technology Management, Mumbai and a Master Strategist and Patron of "Planning Degree in Marketing Management", he is now responsible for the entire strategy and planning at both PPC & P9. He has had a rich experience, spanning over a period of 15 years. Starting his career with McCann Eriksson, he then joined O&M of the WPP Mindshare Group and moved to BroadMind Entertainment within the same Group before joining Percept in December 2005. An avid sports enthusiast; Navin indulges in Trekking and Mountaineering besides Cricket, Football and Table Tennis. |
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Michelle Minieri President, Bradford Licensing Michelle Minieri delivers cutting edge innovation and strategic leadership to the licensing industry. With her impressive rise to the top over a fruitful 10-year career, Michelle has since launched significant business initiatives with Bradford Licensing, developing and implementing various corporate, art, celebrity, fashion, and entertainment properties in the industry. Michelle has acted as a key person in PepsiCo’s unprecedented success on the global front. Having facilitated the international expansion of Pepsico’s network of 600-plus freestanding Pepsi stores in China, Michelle also supervised marketing projects related to Pepsi’s new logo launch and style guide initiatives. Michelle launched the Marilyn by Sam Shaw program from the ground up, which now boasts close to a hundred licensees worldwide. Now acting as Owner and President of Bradford Licensing, her current clients include Pepsi, 7Up, Mountain Dew, Denise Richards, The Wannabes, Sherlock Holmes, Marilyn Monroe by Shaw Family Archives, The City of Beverly Hills, Aspen, Pez Candy and Happy House among others. Michelle holds a BA & MBA in Business Marketing and Management, is an active LIMA member, and currently participates in University Alumni speaking events. |
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Pankaj Licensing Manager, Bioworld, India Pankaj is a licensing Manager, Bioworld, India. Bioworld India is an industry leader in manufacturing and distributing licensed, private label, branded apparel, headwear and accessories worldwide. Bioworld`s unique design and development, comprehensive product knowledge and key understanding of market trends make it a perfect fit to represent one of most recognised and respected brands in the industry. Pankaj brings across an experience of over 10 yrs in functions like marketing and sales. He is an astute sales & marketing professional with an umbrella experience of establishing global names in this region. Deal origination, closure and maintenance are some of his key skill-sets. He is a true networker with client relationship skills. This coupled with the hands-on, in depth training received from Bioworld Inc. USA allowed him to be a strategic fit to establish the licensing function for Bioworld in India. Setting up strategic alliances, key partnerships negotiating and managing licensing relationships are some of the key functions he handles at Bioworld – India. He received his masters degree in management from Narsee Monjee (NMIMS). |
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Mark Hurry Director of Legal and, Commercial Affairs,PPCE Mark Hurry (Legal and Commercial Director) and Denise Bailey (Licensing Manager) represent Picture Production Company Enterprises (PPCE), the commercial arm of the Picture Production Company Ltd. Both Mark and Denise have significant experience in the licensing industry and have been very successful in ensuring that PPCE’s portfolio of brands develop a strong international profile. PPCE represents a number of top properties with truly global appeal, such as Pinky and Perky, the madcap kids’ show that has been a huge hit in the UK since launching in 2008 and is now being broadcast across the world. Also on the PPCE books is evergreen comedy favourite Monty Python, which is currently celebrating its 40th anniversary and has an ever growing stable of fans after proving a huge hit on Youtube, and The Hive – a new pre-school property from the Pinky and Perky team that is already attracting huge amounts of interest from international broadcasters. |
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Denise Bailey Licensing Manager, PPCE Mark Hurry (Legal and Commercial Director) and Denise Bailey (Licensing Manager) represent Picture Production Company Enterprises (PPCE), the commercial arm of the Picture Production Company Ltd. Both Mark and Denise have significant experience in the licensing industry and have been very successful in ensuring that PPCE’s portfolio of brands develop a strong international profile. PPCE represents a number of top properties with truly global appeal, such as Pinky and Perky, the madcap kids’ show that has been a huge hit in the UK since launching in 2008 and is now being broadcast across the world. Also on the PPCE books is evergreen comedy favourite Monty Python, which is currently celebrating its 40th anniversary and has an ever growing stable of fans after proving a huge hit on Youtube, and The Hive – a new pre-school property from the Pinky and Perky team that is already attracting huge amounts of interest from international broadcasters. |
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Rakshit Hargave Business Head, Beauty & Wellness Services, Hindustan Unilever Ltd. Rakshit Hargave is the Business Head for Beauty and Wellness Services with Hindustan Unilever Ltd. He heads the business which operates the Lakme Beauty Services and the Ayush Therapy Wellness Centers. Lakme Beauty Services is the largest chain of beauty services destination in the country while Ayush therapy centers is the largest national chain for experiential Wellness services. Prior to HUL, Rakshit was the Chief of Marketing with Dominos Pizza India Ltd and also with Nestle where he was the Brand Manager for Maggi. Rakshit is an MBA from FMS Delhi and is based out of Mumbai |
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Nicholas Bloom AVP Brand Management, The Beanstalk Group |
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Kelvyn Gardner Managing Director, LIMA Currently the Managing Director of LIMA UK and owner of Asgard Media. He has got his education from King’s College London. He has been in the licensing field for almost thirty years. He has been running his own consultancy and headed up the UK branch of the industry's trade association, LIMA. His areas include assisting manufacturers to acquire IP rights, negotiating contracts, winning strategies for besting your competitors in licensing. Licensed movie/film promotions are also a specialty. He is well networked with all the major Hollywood studios and their international agents for this area of licensing. |
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Nanette D'sa CEO, Brainworks |
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Rakhee Nagpal Chairperson & Managing Director, Dynamic Vertical Solutions Ms Rakhee Nagpal has a rich industry experience of over 12 years and has managed various positions at companies like Merrill Lynch UK and Barclays UK. She was the Marketing Manager and then Director of Navision India. In 2005 Microsoft Corporation, acquired the distribution rights from Navision India, which was at the time the exclusive distributor of Microsoft Business Solutions in India (now Microsoft Dynamics). Her strengths revolve around empowering her people to realize their potential, creating opportunities for companies and people to collaborate, providing leadership, motivation, guidance and vision to her team, esteemed peers and colleagues, family and friends. A veteran in the information technology business, Rakhee has been a spokesperson at some of the leading conferences and leading professional associations. Rakhee holds a Bachelors degree in Economics & Business Finance and a Masters in Marketing from London University. |
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