Prof. Khalid Rumi

PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY

• Accomplished Business Head with MBA from IIM Indore, having over 15 years of experience in Marketing & Brand Management,
Category & Product Management, Corporate Strategy, and Management Consulting.
• Consistent high performer with over 5 years of experience in leadership roles with an exceptional P&L management track record
of turning around 3 businesses into profitable ones with accelerated sales growth.
• Demonstrated excellent leadership skills on high-impact, high-visibility business transformation programs at Fortune 500 MNCs
with teams in US, UK, Germany, Australia & Philippines, Indian public-listed companies, and mid & early-stage start-ups in India.
• Recognized as Top 100 CMOs in India 2023, Brand Builder of the Year 2024, 40 Under 40 Startup Leader 2023, and 30 Marketing
Mavericks: Rising Stars Transforming India’s Startup Ecosystem 2024. Rewarded with Consulting Achiever awards for 4
consecutive years. Won e4m Martech India Award 2024 for “Best Use of MarTech – E-Commerce”.

CORE COMPETENCIES & SKILLS

• Business Management: P&L Management, Brand Management, Category Management, Product Management, Channel
Management, Go-to-Market Strategy, Corporate Strategy, Program & Project Management.
• Sales & Marketing: Marketing Strategy & Planning, Marketing Communication, Campaign Management, ATL, BTL, Market
Research, Product Marketing, E-commerce Sales & Marketing – D2C and marketplaces, Quick Commerce, Digital Marketing &
Analytics, Performance Marketing – Facebook & Google Ads, Retention Marketing – Marketing Automation, Email, WhatsApp,
SMS, Push, Personalization, Social Media Marketing, Affiliate & Influencer Marketing, SEO.
• Soft Skills: Leadership, Team Management, Collaboration, Communication, Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Decision Making,
Adaptability, Conflict Resolution, Negotiation, Empathy, Mentoring, Creativity, Storytelling.
• Industry Exposure: B2C, Consumer Products, Consumer Durables, Consumer Electrical Goods, Home & Kitchen Appliances,
Consumer Electronics, FMCD/FMEG, Cookware, Consumer Markets, Retail, E-commerce, Hospitality.

WORK EXPERIENCE

CEO & Co-founder Sep 2025 – Present
49 STYL WUD Bengaluru
• Building a national brand focused on fully customized furniture, interior décor, and home furnishing.
Business Head May 2025 – Aug 2025
Pigeon Kitchen Appliances (Stovekraft) Bengaluru
• Grew sales of the Cast Iron cookware category by 48% YOY in Q1 FY26. Holding P&L responsibility for the entire cookware range.

Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Jan 2022 – May 2025
The Indus Valley Chennai
• Built a differentiated, profitable ₹150 Cr+ (annual run-rate) brand ‘The Indus Valley’ – India’s No.1 Healthy Cookware Brand.
• Increased sales by 5.1x. Grew D2C website sales by 3.7x and E-commerce marketplace sales on Amazon and Flipkart by 7.29x.
• Boosted marketing ROI by 28%. Delivered 21% jump in ROAS for D2C website. Reduced TACOS by 44% for E-com marketplaces.
• Improved Gross Margin by 14% by uniquely differentiating the brand positioning in a highly commoditized cookware category.
• Lifted repeat purchase rate by 145% and Average Order Value (AOV) by 20% by improving product mix through successful launch
of two new product categories and 50+ SKUs.
• Registered 204% jump in Brand awareness & consideration through Marketing campaigns like Shriya Saran’s Top Secret, Mandira
Bedi’s Untold Secret, and Healthy Cookware, Healthy Family. Led a team of 25+ members.

Vice President – Marketing & Strategy Feb 2020 – Dec 2021
Impex Bengaluru
• Held P&L responsibility of ₹300 Cr for India business leading a team of 40+ comprising Category & Product Management, Brand
Marketing & Communications, E-commerce, and Corporate Strategy.
• Turned the loss-making E-commerce channel into a profitable one (from -6% to +3% EBITDA) while clocking 66% jump in sales.
• Raised company profitability by 10.4% and elevated market competitiveness by revamping Go-to-market & Pricing strategy.
• Attained 25% faster inventory turnover by setting up Integrated Business Planning and S&OP process.

Senior Manager – Strategy Dec 2016 – Jan 2020
V-Guard Cochin
• Led the business turnaround of Inverter Battery category, making it profitable for the first time in 10 years since inception.
• Set up the 5-Year Strategic Planning process encompassing Corporate, Category, Functional, and Digital Strategy.
• Sales & Marketing Transformation: Accelerated sales, and gained & defended market share in key product categories by
revamping the GTM strategy that led to 34% rise in revenue and 66% jump in profits.

Senior Business Consultant (Manager) Jun 2012 – Sept 2016
Cognizant Kentucky (US) & Kolkata
• Orchestrated Digital Transformation at the world’s 3rd largest US-based Pizza chain positively impacting 4000+ corporate &
franchise stores. Realized 11% reduction in financial reconciliation issues, and significantly elevated customer satisfaction.
• Opened new Digital Revenue channels for a leading US-based Restaurant chain that led to 5% increase in To-Go sales and
substantial improvement in order fulfillment efficiency, customer satisfaction, and loyalty.
• Digitalized business processes for a major UK-based Facilities Management firm that empowered it to pursue its inorganic growth
aspirations.
• Rewarded with the Consulting Achiever Award for 4 consecutive years. Highest Rated Consultant in the Retail & Hospitality practice.
Got promoted.

Consultant Development Jun 2008 – Jan 2009
SAP Gurgaon
• Developed the first-of-its-kind energy prepayment SAP ERP solution for the UK market. Tremendously boosted the innovative
image of SAP Labs, helping it maintain its premium positioning in the IT consulting practice.

Software Engineer Jun 2006 – May 2008
Accenture Mumbai
• Implemented SAP ERP & CRM solutions for Australia’s leading energy company (the biggest Utilities project in Accenture history).
The project became an excellent client case study and a successful revenue generator by helping Accenture win multiple Utilities projects.

EDUCATION

MBA (Full Time) Jul 2010 – Mar 2012
Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Indore Indore
• National Finalist in Business Leadership and Strategy & Marketing competitions in IIM Ahmedabad, XLRI, and TAPMI.
• Award-winning articles published in magazines: IIM Indore, NITIE, IIM Shillong, IIT Kharagpur, MBASkool, CoolAvenues.
• Editor-in-Chief, IIM Indore Management Canvas. Organizing Member, Indian B-School League, Charter Member AIESEC.
B. Tech (Electronics) Jul 2002 – May 2006
Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh

PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATIONS

• Marketing: The Fundamentals of Digital Marketing – Google, Google Ads, Amazon Ads, Flipkart Ads, Google Analytics, Content
Marketing – HubSpot, Email Marketing – HubSpot.
• Management: PMP® – PMI, Six Sigma Black Belt – GreyCampus