Marketing professional & Automobile Industry Expert with 11 years of successful track record in Brand Development, Product Marketing & Planning, Marketing Communication, Category Management, Marketing Operations, Strategy and Media Advertising. Outstanding performance in CFT leadership, Brand Communication, ATL/BTL, Product Development, Product Launches, Special Editions, Events & Sponsorship, Media Planning, Digital Content, Agency leadership, Celebrity management, Retail Marketing, Luxury & Sports Marketing, Business Planning & CRM. Currently heading Marketing & PR for Harley-Davidson India. Was associated with Nissan Motor India as Head – Marcom for Datsun brand. Prior was Sr. Group Product Marketing Lead & Country Chief Marketing Manager for Hatch, Sedan, Luxury SUV, Sports, Electric Vehicle & Connected Car(Intelligent Mobility) segments leading the product, pricing, Go To Market and project management strategy for Nissan India. Before Nissan, was Sr. Category Brand Head – Commuter motorcycles for World’s largest two wheeler manufacturer (Hero MotoCorp- formerly known as Hero Honda), taking care of brand development, marketing communication, strategy, digital content nationally for the 10-brands portfolio along with key corporate marketing and global business projects. Started career as Marketing Lead for North with focus on regional media, BTL activations, rural, sales support & CRM. Part of strategic projects as a CFT member/leader like CBU Business model, Intelligent Mobility, Scenario Planning, DMS, Dealer websites, Marketing Planning & Budgeting Software, QBR – Commonwealth Games, IPL, MTV Roadies, HIL, Hero World Challenge, FIFA, ICC, Employer Branding, National Dealer Conclaves, Auto shows, Factory Launches, International Marketing & CSR. An MBA in Marketing & Operations; Also a Mechanical Engineering Degree holder along with Executive programs in Digital Marketing & Leadership. Ad Awards Jury & Globally certified GT-R instructor as working with Hero MotoCorp
Qualifications – PGDM (Marketing) from FSM – Delhi, BE (Mechanical Engg.) from MSRIT – Bangalore, Digital certification from IIM-L, Executive Course in Leadership from Vanderbilt University – USA
Piali Dasgupta is currently Senior Vice President, Marketing, at Columbia Pacific Communities, India’s largest senior living community operator. Columbia Pacific Communities is part of the Seattle-based Columbia Pacific Management. which has presence across USA, Canada, China and India. Piali started her career in journalism with The Times of India, and crossed over to Marketing and Communication with playing key roles in creating impactful content marketing strategies for Myntra and later Amazon. She was responsible for creating Myntra’s very popular style makeover series along with celebrity style chat show series. In a career spanning 14 years, Piali has created a number of award winning marketing campaigns and served on juries. She is on Social Samosa’s Top 40 marketers under 40 list for the year 2019-2020 and has also been awarded the Content Mogul title by CMS Asia (Content Marketing Summit Asia) and has been named one of the top 10 Content Marketing Leaders in APAC in 2020 by CMS Asia. She has also been recognised as the Woman Marketer of The Year at MCube (Masters of Modern Marketing) Awards 2020. She was also part of Social Media Superwomen 2018, that recognised the top 50 women in
marketing in India. She has worked across print media, e-commerce (Myntra, Amazon), retail (Aditya Birla Fashion
Retail) and real estate and is currently building a compelling brand narrative around senior care inIndia.
Her core expertise lies in content marketing, storytelling, building brand narratives and strengthening
brand positioning through storytelling. According to her, good content is one that is purposeful, uplifting and has the ability to startconversations and believes that we are long past the age of “vanity content” or content for the sake of content. Outside of work, she enjoys travelling, is a voracious reader, spends time sketching and is also a
strong mental health advocate, doing her bit to remove long standing stigmas around mental illness.
iali Dasgupta Surendran is a multi-awarded Marketing leader with 18 years of cross category experience across media, retail, e-commerce and real estate with past stints at The Times of India, Myntra, Amazon, Publicis Groupe and Columbia Pacific Communities, India’s largest senior living company.
Piali started her career in journalism with The Times of India, and crossed over to Marketing and Communication playing key roles in creating impactful content marketing and digital marketing strategies for Myntra and later Amazon. She was responsible for creating Myntra’s very popular style makeover series along with a celebrity style chat show series. In a career spanning 18 years, Piali has created a number of award winning marketing campaigns and served on several juries. She is a DMA CMO Trailblazer awardee and has been named India’s Best Marketer by Voot (Viacom 18), and one of the top 10 Content Marketing Leaders in APAC in 2020 by CMS Asia.
She has delivered talks at IIMs at Shillong, Ranchi, Vishakhapatnam and Indore.
Her core expertise lies in content marketing, storytelling, building brand narratives and strengthening
brand positioning.
Outside of work, she enjoys travelling, is a voracious reader, is an upcycle artist and a mental health advocate, removing long standing stigmas and myths around mental illnesses through her podcast The Mind Podium.
. Amiya Swarup Heads Marketing Advisory and is Partner for Ernst & Young. He has nearly two decades of experience in fostering collaboration within the intricate web of marketers, media agencies, martech partners, and media houses, building a better working world
Prasad stands for Pragmatic, ROI driven, Analytical, Segmentation & Automation focused Digital way of doing business. He is a firm believer in the process of ideation – experimentation – learning fast – succeeding faster & scaling up cheap. A Chemical Engineer from UDCT & MBA from JBIMS, Prasad has 16+ years of experience in brand & product management, customer acquisition, customer life cycle management, strategy, business planning and research across insurance, telecom, banking and engineering sectors. Prior to HDFC Life, Prasad has worked in Tata Docomo, Vodafone, ICICI Bank & Kotak Mahindra Bank.
Ajey Maharaj leads Corporate Communications and PR at Fortis Healthcare Ltd, leveraging over 30 years of experience in Corporate Communications and Marketing Communications. His expertise extends to internal and external communications, crisis management, media engagement, public advocacy, CSR, and building corporate reputation. Ajey is known for his exceptional interpersonal skills and ability to develop collaborative relationships, alongside strategic thinking and problem-solving abilities.
His tenure in corporate communications has been decorated with several accolades, including the ‘Corporate Communications Professional of the Year 2021’ and ‘Top 100 Influential Game Changer’s award’ for multiple years ( 2021, 2022 and 2023) from Exchange4media and Business World Group. He also received the ‘PRO of the Year Award 2009’ from the Media Federation of India and the ‘Media Corporate Communications Man of the Year 2010-11’ from The Institute of Economic Studies.
At Fortis Healthcare, Ajey’s role encompasses strategic media and PR planning, integrated communication execution, enhancing corporate image, and crisis management. Additionally, Ajey contributes his expertise as a board member to several Fortis entities, including the Fortis CSR Foundation, Fortis HealthStaff Limited, Malar Stars Medicare, Fortis Health Management (East) Limited, and Fortis Cancer Care Limited.
Before joining Fortis, Ajey held significant positions in notable organizations such as Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited, Bharti Tele Ventures Ltd., Reliance Energy Limited, Asea Brown Boveri Ltd., and Steel Authority Of India Limited. His academic qualifications include a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management from AIMA, New Delhi, Bachelor of Arts from Hindu College, University of Delhi and completed his AISSCE at Air Force Bal Bharti School, Lodi Road, New Delhi.
In addition to his professional achievements, Ajey is an accomplished athlete, having represented India in basketball at various master international events and participating in International Cricket Sixes Tournaments. His athletic accomplishments complement his dynamic corporate communications career, where he has established a legacy of robust media relations and corporate brand enhancement.
Over the last 18 years, Amitabh Biswas has worked in the field of Brand Management and Business Consultancy across Fortune 100 companies to shuddh Desi companies in Advertising, Telecom and Television. He has practiced, developed and innovated across every specialization of Marketing Communications. With a deep first-hand insight of Indian consumers ranging from BPL to global icons, he has seen up close how brands are built, nurtured and disrupted to catapult into newer orbits. A regular jury member for Indian and International Content and Marketing Awards competitions, he also co-founded a startup manufacturing India’s first street-legal chopper motorcycles.
An MBA in Marketing from PSG Institute of Management. Also holds M.A & M.Phil in Sociology. Sharmila joined Saint-Gobain -Gyproc in 2021 as the Head of Marketing.
Sharmila has 18yrs of Brand and Marketing experience across various industries. Prior to Saint-Gobain, Sharmila led marketing and product management at ICICI Bank, Bisleri, Pidilite, Hatsun Agro, Radio Mirchi & Future group retail. Sharmila has vivid interest and acquired skills in numerous handicrafts, conducts workshops and loves being a swimming coach. She unwinds by watching movies and social networking.
