Leaders & Innovators

This episode is about the journey of a consultant in retail evolution and how the role of a retail consultant is changing and evolving. To understand this, we have invited Subhajit Mazumder, Director – Microsoft India.

Subhajit has spent almost his entire career as a Retail & CPG consultant with Big 4s. He has worked with various Indian and global brands on different problems. Though for the last few years, he has primarily worked on technology deployment across businesses, he hasn’t taken his eyes off the Retail & CPG space.  He keeps track of how industry is changing and what its emerging challenges are. Every time I speak to him, he is excited to discuss the latest developments, for example, how Gen AI is going to help this industry and many more.

We also have a new host for this episode, Ranjit Satyanath. Ranjit is equally passionate about new technologies and new ways of tackling business problems. Ranjit has spent over 2 decades in the retail industry with some leading brands and is now busy working with brands in an independent capacity as a change maker.

During the last 4 years, the supply chain has emerged as a major opportunity for sustainable growth across sectors and industries. There is a sudden focus on supply chain efficiency to enhance business profitability and customer

Early in January this year, Retail’s big show NRF predicted Retail Media as one of the emerging technologies in the retail world. The opportunity is sized at around US$300 BLN for 2024.

Tom has pioneered the Retail Media space since 1994 as an entrepreneur and kept innovating this space through

Tom Burgess is the President of Snipp Media Networks and a Serial Entrepreneur.

Acquisition of his first venture, Eco Media by Soft Bank in 1998 not just inspired him but made him hungry for more and he just kept building businesses and creating value for other larger entities. Having exited from 4 of his retail media ventures, he now strategically guides the growth of Snipp Media Networks.

Both Pankaj More and Vishal Kapil are seasoned technology executives with extensive global experience in driving digital transformation within the Retail and CPG industries. Pankaj, with his background in leadership roles at Walmart and GE, brings a wealth of experience in spearheading technology-driven initiatives across diverse regions such as Africa, India, and the United States. Similarly, Kapil's tenure at companies like Marks & Spencer India and Adidas & Reebok India & Emerging Markets has seen him lead transformative IT projects across multiple countries in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.

Both Pankaj and Kapil share a passion for leveraging technology to enhance business operations and customer experience. They excel in driving strategic initiatives and building high-performing teams to achieve organizational goals. However, they differ in their specific areas of expertise and leadership styles. Pankaj's focus lies in digital strategy, product management, and data engineering, while Kapil specializes in technology leadership, change management, and solution architecture. Additionally, Pankaj's career spans across various multinational corporations, while Kapil has a strong background in consulting and system implementations before transitioning into leadership roles within retail giants. Despite these differences, both Pankaj and Kapil share a common commitment to driving innovation, fostering cross-functional collaboration, and delivering tangible results in today's rapidly evolving digital landscape.

2023 was the first full recovery year for the retail industry after disruptions due to the pandemic.

In India, we have some commonly known brands like Bajaj, Wipro, Cipla, MDH, Haldiram, and many more which have continued to stay true to their fundamentals over the

Nilesh Gupta is someone who has not just taken his father's legacy forward in true spirit but also set up trends on how CDIT retail is carried out successfully in the Indian market. He continues to be a role model for many new brands to set up shops in India.  

Attending the Pathshala during my formative years exposed me to the illuminating tenets of Jainism such as Ahimsa – Aparigraha – Sweekar – and Anekaantwad.

Ahimsa is non-violence, widely known and practiced in India, thanks to Gandhiji’s pervading influence. Aparigraha

A passionate leader with a reputation for delivering, Anna Berry has over 34 years of retail experience.

As Head of Category in Home, Anna was responsible for a team of sixty and over £450m in sales for John Lewis. Anna also built the General Merchandise ranges in Waitrose. Anna is strategically agile and sees opportunities to respond to customer needs with creative new propositions and experiences to transform business.

The values of the Partnership are incredibly important to me - I truly believe it is a “better way of doing business.” Integrity is crucial, my honesty and openness are often commented on. I believe passionately in the power of mentoring and coaching and do this at all levels taking real pleasure as I see the number of careers I have helped develop. I led on Diversity and Inclusion in Trading believing we need to find ways to shift our culture to respond to new ways of working - and if we are to remain relevant for our customers. A passionate and committed individual with products and people at the heart of what I do.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-berry-142505b9

Himanshu joined Snapdeal in Nov 2021 and is currently the CEO of Snapdeal and Stellaro Brands. Building Snapdeal 2.0: A pioneer of Indian e-commerce, Snapdeal exclusively serves India’s value commerce segment, with quality products designed to meet the requirements of mid-income, price-conscious buyers. Snapdeal’s focus is on providing excellent levels of quality, convenience and predictability associated with branded retail to purchase decisions beyond the world of well-known brands. It consciously works with a curated base of reliable and quality sellers, who have a high bar on product quality, to

With the help of the young stellar Snapdeal team, Himanshu is re-building Snapdeal into a high growth profitable value lifestyle e-commerce leader.

He is a B.Tech from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, post which he completed his Post Graduation in Marketing & Finance from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore. Himanshu is an experienced industry leader with experience in FMCG, retail and fashion. He also has significant exposure to technology solutions and e-commerce during his stints in retail and fashion. Himanshu’s previous assignments pan over Arvind Fashions, The Mobile Store (Essar), Trent Limited (Tata Group) and Lakme Lever (Hindustan Unilever), to name a few.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/himanshu-chakrawarti-6b569b64/

Danial has more than 30 years of experience in the Lifestyle industry with a focus on apparel and Accessories. With strong analytical skills and expertise in the whole value chain (BD, design, production, distribution, communication…), He is able to take a 360° approach to the lifestyle business. He is also extensively

He founded DNA Group in 2008. DNA is a group of multicultural boutique companies dedicated to building and developing lifestyle & fashion brands across Asia, America, and Europe. DNA provides holistic solutions for improving production chains, product range expansion, brand portfolio, right distribution channels, or marketing the brand in an engaging way. Their services are tailored to the different needs and growth requirements of each business. They help Western brands to get access to Asian markets and Asian companies to get into the West.

Before founding DNA Group Daniel held leadership roles with various brands across South America and Europe.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dna1964/