Hirings & Promotions: RP Sanjiv Goenka Group, Zenith, Duroflex, Asymmetrique

RP Sanjiv Goenka Group Onboards Rajeev Khandelwal

In a LinkedIn post, Rajeev Khandelwal shared that he has been allotted the role of President of FMCG strategy and business expansion at RP Sanjiv Goenka Group. Prior to this, he was CEO, Guiltfree FMCG for four years. 

Highlighting the brand growth, he added, "The journey has been exciting and fulfilling. We established "Too Yumm" as a meaningful brand in snacking, we launched beauty and nature-inspired brands ‘Naturali’ and ‘Within Beauty’ in Personal Care, we scaled up ‘Dr Vaidya’s’ in Ayurveda. We are on the way to achieving a milestone of Rs 1000 Cr ARR soon. What is satisfying is we are doing this via completely homegrown brands in a young FMCG organisation."

He had stepped into the RPSG group in April 2020 as Chief Executive Officer.

In his career span, Khandelwal has worked with renowned brands in the past like Reckitt, Procter & Gamble and Gillette. He began his career in 1998 as Group Brand Manager, Gillette India.

Neelav Bose named Chief Strategy Officer at Zenith

Neelav Bose, formerly the Vice President of Client Leadership at Mindshare, where he headed Mindshare East and led multi-category clients in the North, has joined Publicis Groupe's Zenith as Chief Strategy Officer.

Bose began his career at Nestle as a sales officer and later worked at Barista Coffee Company. 

As the Principal Partner for Client Leadership South Asia at GSK, Mindshare, Bose led a large team to meet client commitments and maintain strong client-agency relationships. He developed comprehensive and brand-specific annual media strategies, provided strategic insights aligned with evolving media trends, and was responsible for achieving the organisation’s revenue targets.

Duroflex ropes in Ullas Vijay as CMO & Sudhanshu Krishna as CSO

Duroflex has appointed Ullas Vijay as Chief Marketing Officer and Sudhanshu Krishna as Chief Sales Officer – Consumer Business. This move is part of Duroflex's ongoing efforts to strengthen its market position. By building its leadership team, Duroflex aims to drive innovation, enhance customer engagement, and accelerate growth in the highly competitive sleep solutions market.

Vijay will be taking charge of Duroflex's marketing. With over 16 years of experience managing brands across lifestyle, fashion, sports, and FMCG categories, he has a proven track record of accelerating market share and building strong brands. In his last role as head of category and communication at Bata India, Vijay excelled in identifying market gaps, leveraging consumer insights, and ensuring product-brand alignment. His expertise in marketing and communications has led to successful campaigns, elevated customer experiences, and earned him several awards.

Speaking about his appointment, Vijay said, “I’m delighted to join Duroflex, a company renowned for its pioneering innovations in the sleep solutions industry for over six decades. I look forward to driving growth and strengthening our relationships with our customers. By focusing on innovation, and enhancing customer experience at every touchpoint, I hope to make Duroflex the most loved sleep solutions brand.”

Krishna would be leading the sales function for the consumer business. Prior to Duroflex, he was with Eureka Forbes as vice president and CoE head of direct sales. With over 18 years of experience, he has steered many prominent brands to success. Beyond his leadership in sales and business, Krishna brings strategic thinking, analytical acumen, and a talent for driving organisational change. His unique leadership style presents an opportunity for optimizing resources, refining sales processes, and enhancing overall company performance.

Commenting on this new role, Krishna said, “I’m delighted to join Duroflex, a brand which is committed to quality and innovation in the sleep solutions industry and has earned immense trust from its consumers. With Duroflex, I hope to set a standard for excellence in the industry through superior solutions. I look forward to building strong relationships with our channel partners and continuously improving our skills to deliver exceptional results and drive profitable business growth."

Speaking on both the leadership appointments, Sridhar Balakrishnan, Group CEO, Duroflex, said, “We are glad to welcome Ullas Vijay and Sudhanshu Krishna to the company’s leadership team. Their combined experience will be instrumental in further driving the growth and success of the organisation. We are excited to onboard these leaders who will steer Duroflex to become the top sleep solutions provider in India by enhancing our market position and value to the consumers as well as stakeholders.”

Asymmetrique employs Urvashi Khanna as Vice President, Content and Brand Solutions

Asymmetrique, a Mumbai-based marketing solutions agency, has brought in Urvashi Khanna as Vice President of Content and Brand Solutions.

Khanna brings over 15 years of industry experience in crafting compelling content strategies across various formats. Her expertise lies in enhancing brand engagement by strategically deploying content throughout the customer journey via partnerships, integrations, strategies, and distribution channels. 

Starting her career as a journalist at UTVi, Urvashi went on to work as a creative director and producer for several prominent boutique advertising agencies. She developed branded content for broadcasters like MTV, Channel V, Bindass, and Disney, among others. Additionally, she has provided her expertise to brands such as Jeep, OPPO, Beam Suntory, Ola, Nestle, Dabur, Melorra, Citi Bank, Spykar, Lenskart, and Eros Now.

"We are delighted to welcome Urvashi to our team," says Nitin Gupta, Founder and Managing Director, Asymmetrique. He adds, "Urvashi possesses a strong understanding of the changing content landscape. Her experience in mapping customer journeys and translating them into captivating creative and content strategies will be instrumental in propelling our future growth.”

“We are living in the most dynamic times where innovative storytelling; influencer marketing & new age media platforms are defining consumer behaviour. And now with AI, blockchain, Web3 - the content economy is seeing a boost where rewards & results are instant yet indeterminate, and brands need to challenge their own consumer-content matrix more frequently. I am excited to be part of this change & with the talented teams at Asym, I am sure we will create an ecosystem that will disrupt how content finds its place in the digital era of brand building & communication,” mentioned Khanna.

Throughout her career, she has earned numerous accolades in the industry. K7 Insights recognised her as one of the top 26 global content executives. She was also shortlisted for the prestigious HX awards for her role in the ‘Jeep Bollywood Trails’. Moreover, her Teacher's Genuine Stories campaign won Best Marketing Campaign of the Year at the Spiritz Achievers Awards and was named Best Branded Content of the Year at the 2020 OTT and Digital Marketing Innovation Awards.