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: desai.ruchika@yahoo.in

PERSONAL DETAILS
DATE OF BIRTH: 05 March, 1979 NATIONALITY: Indian MARITAL STATUS: Married 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

Curriculum vitae of Ruchika Desai

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 as a category.

Products launched: Slimm - Flavored waters in four flavours

Curriculum vitae of Ruchika Desai

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-TheCounter (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 booming economy and developing products to fill gaps .Preparation, implementation and execution of marketing plan, communication strategy to deliver business objectives through close working with the sales department. 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 and Tiger Oil) Products Launched Aloe Vera range of cosmetics: Shampoo, Face wash, Moisturizer, Sunscreen and AllNight 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 indiaimes.com.

and

implemented

the

Internet

marketing

model

for

gifting

through

Managed licensing for Barbie to category extensions like accessories, clothing, school merchandise and 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.

EDUCATION
I 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.

Curriculum vitae of Ruchika Desai

Have been a Science Student throughout my undergraduate classes.

OTHER PROJECTS, PROFESSIONAL TRAINING AND ACCREDITATION

2009 -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.

REFERENCES
Ms. Chavi Topa Category manager , Mattel India Ltd. topachha@mattelindia.com Mr.Himanshu Thakkar Executive Director, Beehive Communications himashu@beehivecommunications.com Mr.Puneet Jagasia Managing Partner Red Lion, Ambience Publicis punit.jagasia@publicisindia.com Mr.Ramesh Chauhan rjchauhan@bisleri.co.in CMD, Bisleri International

HOBBIES and INTERESTS

Dancing and exercising, outdoor sports, trekking.