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7 Questions with Radhika Subramanian
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7 Questions with Radhika Subramanian
Name: Radhika Subramanian
Current title: Head - Marketing, Retail and Customer Service at India Circus by Krsnaa Mehta, a Godrej venture
Current organisation: Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co. Ltd.
I am a seasoned Marketing professional with a demonstrated history of working in the consumer goods and retail industry. Skilled in Marketing Management, Business Planning and Strategy, Retail Operations and Expansion, Retail Management, Customer Service and Integrated marketing communication.
In my current role, I head the B2C line of business for the brand wherein I am responsible for generating the top line and managing the bottom line, managing the strategy, expansion and operations of 3 key verticals of the business Pan India namely Ecommerce, Exclusive Branded Outlets (all formats) and Marketplaces, managing the marketing budgets and spends, planning and executing offline and online marketing campaigns and collaborations and ensuring optimum customer service and experience across all the touchpoints.
During my 12 plus years professional experience, I have worked in various functions namely new business development, category management, retail operations, marketing, etc
I hold a Bachelor's degree in Electronics Engineering from Mumbai University, a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management with Marketing specialization from Welingkar Institute of Management, Development and Research, Mumbai and a Masters in Business Laws from National Law School of India University, Bengaluru.
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1. What have you found most challenging as a CEO or executive of a large enterprise?
I have always believed that people are the greatest assets in any organization.
As a manager, handling a large team, I sometimes find it challenging to strike a balance between organization and business goals and people's skills and expectations.
2. How did you become a CEO or executive of a large enterprise? Can you please briefly tell the story?
I joined this illustrious organization in 2008 as a management trainee fresh out of my B-School. It's been a great journey since then of 13 years. I have been fortunate that I got to work on numerous interesting and challenging assignments and projects during my professional career. I had the guidance of my seniors at work and the support from my colleagues and peers and trust of my subordinates. I have handled numerous assignments like new business development then moved on to Category management, then retail operations, retail marketing and now I look at the B2C business of a boutique brand. This journey has given me immense opportunities to take risks, learn from my mistakes and apply the learnings in my areas of work.
I have ensured that I have always given my best to my work and believed that there are no shortcuts to success.
Perseverance and Positive attitude have helped me to accomplish my short term and long term goals.
3. How do you structure your work days from waking up to going to sleep?
I am an early riser. I also like to plan my day so I make a to-do list which I refer to throughout the day and keep adding and deleting items to it. Once I am up and get done with my household work, I get on to my office calls and meetings and emails for the day.
In the evening I like to go on a brisk walk which helps me to declutter my mind and keep my mind and body fit.
Dinner is usually with my family. I also make it a point to read a little every day across genres.
The day ends with wishing my loved ones and a little prayer to the almighty.
4. What's the most recent significant leadership lesson you've learned?
Some of the recent leadership lessons that I have learnt are People centric approach to leadership as People are the greatest assets in any organization according to me.
It's a very fine balance that as managers we need to strike between organizational objectives and consumer demands with our team members' goals and aspirations.
5. What's one book that has had a profound impact on your leadership so far? Can you please briefly tell the story of how that book impacted your leadership?
I am currently reading the Bhagavad Gita and attending an online course on the same. The entire story of the Mahabharat and the life lessons and art of living advice given by Lord Krishna to Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra are inspiring and have really taught me a lot on how to manage oneself and others.
6. How do you build leadership capacity in a large enterprise?
In any large enterprise, building leadership is always a priority. There are many ways in which it can be built namely through one to one mentoring, training programs, job rotations, new assignments, shadowing a leader on some assignments, etc.
Besides this our nature and nurture also have a huge role to play in acquiring and honing this skill.
Leadership is a journey and there is something to learn everyday from our personal as well as professional lives.
7. What is one meaningful story that comes to mind from your time as a CEO or executive of a large enterprise so far?
I am a manager at my place of work and I manage a large team of 15-20 employees across various functions namely marketing, retail, customer service, etc.
One of the stories that comes to my mind is how thanks to this pandemic, my team members and I are trying to find out ways and means to think innovatively and carry out our work in these challenging times.