Ruchika Desai CV

7/30/2019 Ruchika Desai CV

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Curriculum vitae of Ruchika Desai

Ruchika Desai

20 Grove Avenue, Pinner, Middlesex HA5 5NU, UNITED KINGDOM

Cellular: +44 7881 828 783 Residence: +44 20 8357 0373 Email: [email protected]

PERSONAL DETAILSDATE OF BIRTH: 05 March, 1979 MARITAL STATUS: Married

NATIONALITY: Indian PASSPORT NUMBER: G5306770

UK VISA STATUS: Dependent HSMP WP Holder. Reference No. 215185.

UK ENTRY CLEARANCE: Valid from 17 October, 2007 through 17 October, 2009

SKILLS PROFILE

Highly motivated and focused marketing professional

Wide-ranging experience in, and deep knowledge of, fast moving consumer goods (FMCG)

Adept at interacting with various management levels within and outside of the organisation

Skilled communicator with excellent command over written and spoken English

Ability to work under pressure and deliver within tight timelines

Ready learner ever willing to adapt to new functions and workplaces

Successful management of large teams at a National Level

EXPERIENCE SUMMARY

Over seven years of core marketing activities for FMCGs in the Indian market:

FMCG product development , brand management and launch execution

Managing ATL and BTL promotions, communication strategy, PR and advertising campaigns

Strategic management of category, development of new products and portfolio management

Driving and managing Corporate PR and MIS development across organisations

Brand management in Oral Care, Skin Care, Over-The-Counter products and Beverages

Supervising creative, research, public relations, media buying and Below-The-Line advertising

agencies

Thorough knowledge of media touch points (Above-The-Line) and trade related (below the line)

activities to generate sales

Working knowledge of legal maters pertaining to Trademarks , Registration and Intellectual

Property Rights (IPR) for brands


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WORK EXPERIENCE

Bisleri International Pvt. Ltd. (June 2006 to current)Brand Manager direct report to the Chairman and Managing Director

Bisleri is the market leader in the bottled water Industry in India, having over 65% market-share in the organised

sector. It has over 75 manufacturing locations within India and boasts of the most robust distribution and 50% -

60% growth Year-on-Year.

The Bisleri product range includes:

Packaged Drinking water - Bisleri with added minerals

Natural Mineral water

Bisleri Mountain water

Bisleri Mountain water from the Himalayas

Flavoured water

Soda (sparkling water)

Tonic water

As the head of the Marketing for all products in the Company, I report directly to the Chairman and

Managing Director. I am responsible for all brand management initiatives and activities for all existing

and upcoming lines of business

I lead the effort to define the long-term strategic direction for the Company, including ideating,

developing and monitoring new projects and initiatives with R&D, product-packaging development,

product launches and objective generation for various researches and analyse the findings and plough

the learning back into the organisation.

I am responsible for category segmentation and portfolio management, creation of brand positioning

platforms and generation of effective communications plans for ATL and BTL communications.

I supervise market research agencies to study consumer behaviour, retailer buyer dynamics, primary &

secondary product movement, monitor satisfaction levels of all customers & consumers. Development

of satisfaction index at all levels & monitor projects to improve the same.

I supervise all external agencies advertising (creative & media) and public relations agencies to

increase top of mind recall and enhance product look and image.

I help the Sales department in devising strategic trade initiatives and trade related activities, special

trade level schemes and promotions to suit the market dynamics - profitability and incremental market

share.

The Management Information System was redesigned to suit better information flow. Budgets, cash

flow planning and working capital requirement was modified to meet promotional needs of the product

category keeping organizational business objectives and constraints in mind.

I jointly work with the CMD for all legal matters pertaining to our brands and have actively managed

second line PR for the company. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives were drawn for next

10 years and the project was managed by me and the CMD.

Have implemented some FIRSTs (home delivery systems of 20 ltr, FAT dealers as retailers and blue to

the green change, developed the milestone hexagonal bottle in PET, surrogate advertising) in the

history of water in India and have contributed actively to advertising in a way which redefined water asa category.

Products launched:

Slimm - Flavored waters in four flavours


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Bisleri Fizzy Soda

Bisleri Tonic Water

Bisleri mountain water from the Himalayas

Elder Pharmaceuticals in OTC Division (August 2003- June 2006)

Product Executive direct report to General Manager-Marketing

Elder Pharmaceuticals is one of the fastest growing young pharmaceutical companies in India. The Over-The-

Counter (OTC) division had a variety of consumer products like Tiger Balm, AMPM Mouthwash, Fair One fairness

creams and other cosmetics that were positioned in the FMCG category.

At Elder, I worked extensively on analysing and identifying consumer need gaps created by a boomingeconomy and developing products to fill gaps .Preparation, implementation and execution of marketingplan, communication strategy to deliver business objectives through close working with the salesdepartment. Budgeting for finance & production. Required MIS for management, liaison with R&D, legal& statutory departments & all external agencies & suppliers.

Brand Management for existing product categories

ORAL CARE - AM/PM range of mouthwash and toothbrush

Confectionery

SOLO range of throat lozenges

FLYER range of hard boiled candies

OTC Pain Management Tiger Range of Products (Tiger Balm, Tiger Muscle Rub andTiger Oil)

Products Launched

Aloe Vera range of cosmetics: Shampoo, Face wash, Moisturizer, Sunscreen and All-Night cream.

Blistex (Lip Care products)

Biorga (High end cosmetics)

Fair One Fairness cream (in collaboration with Shahnaz Husain) Fair One for Men

Mattel Toys (India) Pvt. Ltd (October 2002 July 2003)Brand Executive direct report to the Marketing Director, Mattel India

Mattel India is a 100% subsidiary of Mattel Inc., USA, with brands like Hot Wheels, Barbie and Fisher-Price.

Conceived, developed and implemented the Internet marketing model for gifting through

indiaimes.com.

Managed licensing for Barbie to category extensions like accessories, clothing, school merchandiseand The Barbie Club India.

Led activation and promotion campaigns for Barbie, Hot Wheels and Fisher-Price in the organised retail.

Developed Point-Of-Sales (merchandising) material, catalogues, manuals and other marketing

collaterals.

EDUCATIONI have been conferred a Masters Degree in Business Administration from the ICFAI Business School,

Mumbai. My core specialisation was Marketing and Information Technology with additional electives in

Finance and Economics.

I hold a graduate B.Sc. degree in Biology from the Bundelkhand University, India. This is the equivalent

of a normal three-year B.Sc. degree from a comparable UK University. I was the university top scorer

for all the three years.


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Have been a Science Student throughout my undergraduate classes.

OTHER PROJECTS, PROFESSIONAL TRAINING AND ACCREDITATION2009 -Principled negotiation skills with Russell Pereira

2008 - Management Development Programmes for Buliding Strong Brands at IIM- Indore.

2008 - Voice art Voice modulation & public speaking skills with Kodas Wadia

2003 - Branding and promotion for Cisco Systems Training Programs in India.

2002 - Marketing of a B2B portal for apparel industry for Optimal Infotech.

2000- Diploma in Systems Management (DISM) from APTECH COMPUTER EDUCATION.

REFERENCESMs. Chavi Topa Category manager , Mattel India Ltd.

[email protected]

Mr.Himanshu Thakkar Executive Director, Beehive Communications

[email protected]

Mr.Puneet Jagasia Managing Partner Red Lion, Ambience Publicis

[email protected]

Mr.Ramesh Chauhan CMD, Bisleri International

[email protected]

HOBBIES and INTERESTSDancing and exercising, outdoor sports, trekking.
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]

Documents

Ruchika Desai CV