Appointment | Ruchika Gupta appointed as Marketing Director at Beam Suntory India

Ruchika Gupta appointed as Marketing Director at Beam Suntory India

Beam Suntory India, the global premium spirits company, has appointed Ruchika Gupta to the role of Marketing Director in India. This strategic appointment to its leadership team is in-line with its vision of reaching $1 billion in revenue by 2030. Among the youngest marketing top talents in Indian alco-bev currently, Ruchika Gupta is the first woman leader to spearhead brand marketing for India business of Beam Suntory in India.

Ruchika joined Beam Suntory India in 2019 as part of the brand team and was elevated to Head of Marketing in the interim last year, succeeding Rishi Walli, who was appointed as Senior Commercial Director for the company in India, effective April 1, 2021. Amongst her many achievements, she led the launch of one of Beam Suntory’s strategic priority NPD Project - Oaksmith – India’s first International Blended Whisky. Under her leadership, Oaksmith has rapidly expanded in the period of three years and has won many international and national blend and brand building accreditations. More recently, she has supported the premiumization and growth of the Beam Suntory India portfolio.

Ruchika brings over 15 years of rich marketing and digital experience working with some of the finest organizations. Prior to Beam Suntory, Ruchika led strategic thinking for world class brands like Bacardi Rum, Grey Goose Vodka, brands at Uber and also from the agency side supporting brands from Unilever and Johnson & Johnson. In her present role, she will be responsible for building new scale for Beam Suntory’s premium brand portfolio, lead the rapid expansion of Oaksmith and unlock new business opportunities and digital-first equity building to increase the market share of key brands.

“At Beam Suntory, preserving the rich legacy of our centuries’ old brand heritage, building winning new brands and innovating to premiumize is an ongoing ambition,” said Neeraj Kumar, Managing Director at Beam Suntory India. “Ruchika has been instrumental in accelerating the growth strategies of the company through sustained market outperformance and innovative practices. Ruchika’s success in building our brands through the challenging pandemic is a testament to the passion, agility and strategic thinking that she consistently brings to the fore. Given her depth of experience with our brands and teams, we are confident that our marketing team and the business will benefit richly from her leadership role at Beam Suntory India. I want to wish Ruchika and Rishi the very best in their new roles at Beam Suntory India”

Marketing Director at Beam Suntory India, Ruchika Gupta says, “It’s an exciting time for alcobev in India, and it has been my absolute joy working with the iconic brands at Beam Suntory India driving forward our marketing work pivoted around principles of Monozukuri, Monogatari and Gemba. After 3 years in the company, I feel fortunate to be a part of a dynamic and inclusive work environment where every talent is nurtured to their highest potential. I look forward to moving onto the next chapter and to lead with purpose and vision of building greater scale for our premium brands alongside my fantastic team, aligned to our vision of “Growing for Good”.”

Rishi Walli, Senior Commercial Director at Beam Suntory India says, “It has been a remarkable journey of portfolio expansion at Beam Suntory. Our focus behind premiumization and a ‘Gemba’ mindset continue to be at the core of achieving our 2030 ambition and we are investing in building strong commercial capabilities to enable this vision. I wish Ruchika the very best in her new role as marketing director, leading the scale up and growth of our iconic brands.”

Over the recent years, Beam Suntory India has been on an upward growth trajectory by building premium scale within the alco-bev industry in India. Despite the challenges posed during the global pandemic, the company has launched some of the world’s most iconic brands like Yamazaki 55-Year-Old Single Malt Whisky, Hibiki 21-Year-Old Blended Whisky, Bowmore Series, etc. This also includes rapid expansion of Oaksmith, its first international blended whisky which is now present in 16 markets across the country and is expected to be a national brand by the end of 2022. The company is on a path of building capability and strengthening digital and commercial excellence. Its progressive people policies and a culture of high people engagement have resulted in Beam Suntory India to secure a recertification as a Great Place To Work in 2022.