Ajay Harinath Singh Greatest Brand Leader 2018-2019

TM
powerful
Bhaskar Bhat
Leadership Guru To The Corporate India
Leaders who set new trends and bring a paradigm shift in the corporate
practices are always remembered and revered in the corporate
industry, whether Indian or international. Mr. Bhaskar, the former M.D.
of the Titan Co. Ltd. is one such leader in the corporate world
Memorable Journey
A B.Tech. (Mechanical Engineering)
graduate from the IIT - Madras, and
a Post Graduate Diploma holder in
Management from IIM – Ahmedabad,
Mr. Bhaskar started his journey in the
Tata Group with the Tata Watch Project
in 1983; later to become Titan Watches
Limited, and now Titan Company
Limited. At Titan, Bhaskar handled
sales & marketing, HR, international
business, and wide-ranging managerial
assignments. He then took over as the
Managing Director of the Company on
April 1, 2002, and held the position
till his retirement on September 30,
2019. Subsequently, he was appointed
as a Non-Executive, Non-Independent
Director of the Company with effect
from October 1, 2019.
During his extensive tenure at the helm
of the company’s affairs, he transformed
Titan to a legendary brand known for
reshaping the watch and jewellery
industry in India through brands like
Fastrack for college-going youth, Sonata
for people seeking affordable wearable
timepieces, and Tanishq, Nebula, Mia,
CaratLane for modern jewellery designs.
With his relentless efforts, he has
created a very strong base from which
Titan can reach newer heights globally
in the years to come.
Man of Simplicity
Mr. Bhaskar brings to bear simplicity
of thought, which cuts through layers
of complexity. The way he gets to the
nitty-gritty of the marketing or business
problem in a crisp manner is phenomenal
with his simple yet deliberate approach.
Instead of using marketing jargons, he
emphasizes to use easy-to-understand
yet creatively powerful marketing
phrases to communicate with the target
consumers.
Excellence first
One business advice that the industry
veteran shares with corporate leaders
across categories is to ensure excellence
in product quality and to have in-depth
knowledge of the business category
one is managing. During his tenure, he
focused that great brands are created
on the basis of understanding what the
consumers need, create the best version
of what you can offer, and make it easily
available to the consumer. His inherent
belief is that marketers have to constantly
find ideas for growth. Creating demand
has to be a marketer’s top agenda.
A prodigious marketer
Mr. Bhat is known for his insightful
marketing plans which have been a
result of him making every effort to be
in touch with ground realities about how
consumers make purchase decisions. In
spite of being the Managing Director of
such a world-renowned organization,
Mr. Bhat used to devote more time in
the dusty markets of India instead of the
board rooms. He has always emphasized
that marketers have to be out in the
field to understand demographics and
psychographics well. With this deep
knowledge about the market, he has
been able to connect to hundreds of
franchisees and distributors for Titan
over a period of time.
Proponent of Simple Living
and High Thinking
Despite spending decades of his life
enjoying the glory and perks of a highprofile
corporate job, Mr. Bhat is still desi
at heart. From catching auto-rickshaw to
his destination to chit-chatting with the
rickshaw driver undoubtedly makes him
a social and simple person who ensures
to stay grounded and in touch with local
trends—some of which may inevitably
emerge as consumer trends too. He
loves singing Hindi film songs and is a
fan of cricket and other popular sports.
“His insightful
marketing plans are a
result of him making
every effort to be in
touch with ground
realities about how
consumers make
purchase decisions”
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