Abhishek Roy
Delhi
Summary
A seasoned Corporate Communications and Public Affairs leader with 20 years of experience. Spent nine years in Journalism and then pivoted to being an expert in reputation management, policy advocacy, and stakeholder engagement within highly regulated consumer-facing sectors like BFSI, Real Estate, Telecom, Consumer Internet, OTT and Broadcasting. Proven track record of building communication practices in a digital-first world for market leaders and navigating complex legislative and bureaucratic processes to drive business priorities.
Core Competencies:
- Public Affairs & Advocacy: Leading engagements with India's financial regulators (RBI and SEBI) and trade bodies (CII, FICCI, IAMAI) to shape policy frameworks.
- Executive Communications: Acting as a strategic counsel to C-suite leadership on business-critical priorities and Thought Leadership.
- Crisis & Reputation Management: Mitigating high-stakes business crises involving Supreme Court proceedings and regulatory compliance.
- Media Relations: Deep-rooted network with national and international media; expert in newsroom management and proactive storytelling.
- Strategic Brand Integration: Leveraging earned, paid, and digital channels to establish category leadership and brand authority.
Overview
21
21
years of professional experience
Work History
Head of PR,
Paisabazaar (PB Fintech)
Gurgaon
04.2023 - Current
- Public Affairs: Lead engagements with the RBI Innovation Hub and SEBI to formulate lending frameworks, ensuring regulatory alignment and driving financial inclusion. Facilitated discussions with the MSME Ministry through ASSOCHAM to create a responsible and inclusive lending framework for MSMEs.
- Stakeholder Engagement: Positioned CEO within key fintech committees of trade bodies CII, FICCI, and IAMAI to enhance institutional credibility.
- Crisis Management: Overcame complex regulatory challenges through strategic communications during taxation and compliance developments.
- Investor & B2B Relations: Managing B2B communications with 65+ banking partners and leading the publication of Annual Reports and Quarterly Investor Decks.
- Consumer Communications: Spearheading Strategic Communications programme to establish the brand as a leading player in consumer credit. Managing Corporate image across social media platforms.
- Driving Thought Leadership: Formulating Thought Leadership campaigns encompassing whitepapers and reports advocating for consumer-first credit practices.
- Internal Communications: Managing pan-India employee communications to align teams with new product launches, regulatory updates, and market trends.
- Events: Managing Paisabazaar’s presence at industry exhibitions and fintech forums and leading high-impact product launch events to drive business visibility, stakeholder alignment, and media amplification.
Head of PR,
Justdial (Reliance Retail)
Noida
08.2021 - 03.2023
- Executive Communications: Set up the Corporate Communications function, oversaw Investor Relations and enhanced leadership visibility in policy forums.
- Public Affairs: Led engagement with statutory bodies like the Delhi Commission for Women to fortify platform accountability.
- B2B Outreach: Partnered with local trade associations to drive the digitisation of businesses through JDMart.
- Internal Communications: Created Newsletters for Employees and Annual Reports, ensuring consistency in messaging.
- Stakeholder Engagement: Led stakeholder engagement with statutory and civic bodies, such as the Delhi Commission for Women, fortifying platform accountability frameworks.
Senior Communications Manager,
Magicbricks (Times Group)
Noida
03.2017 - 08.2021
- Executive Communications: Set up the Corporate Communications vertical and spearheaded a strategic outreach to establish category leadership. Created content syndication with key publications to drive awareness.
- Digital Innovation: Spearheaded the launch of MBTV, a first-of-its-kind digital Tube channel in the industry. Produced three shows for the channel.
- Regulatory Advocacy: Led proactive engagement with RERA regulators across states to establish the platform's legal and operational standing.
- B2B Communications: Drove communication campaigns (Home Loan Festivals) in partnership with India's largest banks like SBI, ICICI, and Axis. Positioned Magicbricks as a leading platform for property E-auctions with top financial institutions.
Corporate Communications Manager,
Aircel
Gurugram
09.2015 - 03.2017
- Strategic Communications: Established the brand as a Challenger Brand through an effective Communications outreach programme. Led effective B2B communication campaigns for enterprise solutions. Led circle-level media strategy and organised press conferences for product launches and brand initiatives.
- Crisis Communications: Mitigated business crisis during Supreme Court spectrum proceedings by aligning a lender consortium and highlighting taxpayer implications. Drove successful negotiations with the community and regional stakeholders in the North-East circles during network outages and misinformation issues.
- Public Affairs: Partnered regularly with the industry body COAI on telecommunications policy and regulatory advocacy.
- CSR and Strategic Brand Association: Led communication strategies for flagship CSR initiative – Save Our Tigers. Managed communications for the brand's strategic partnership with Chennai Super Kings (IPL), Athletico de Kolkata (ISL), Chennai Open Tennis and Aamir Raza Hussain Theatre Group.
Corporate Communications Manager,
Star TV (21st Century Fox)
Gurugram
11.2014 - 09.2015
- Executive Communications: Spearheaded the Corporate PR strategy and amplified the channel's efforts to make India a sports-first nation. Led the PR launch of Hotstar, India's first VOD platform.
- B2B Communications: Drove B2B campaigns to establish Hotstar and Adsharp as an ROI-driven platform for advertisers.
- Public Affairs: Successfully managed stakeholder communications involving MSOs (Multi Service Operators) around Star TV's Reference Interconnect Offer (RIO) framework that led to the industry shifting to 'bouquet offerings' to customers. Amplified corporate positioning during regulatory and legal matters involving broadcast rights and distribution policy.
- International Strategy: Elevated the network's corporate image across global markets, including the US, UK, and UAE.
- Events: Managed the PR launch of Pro Kabaddi League (PKL), Indian Super League (ISL), and Indian Badminton League (IBL). Transformed PKL into a prime-time content through strategic storytelling, drove media narrative and brand positioning for the ISL and managed communications rollout for IBL, establishing badminton as a franchise-based entertainment format.
Deputy Editor,
Indo-Asian News Service
Delhi
09.2006 - 11.2014
- Headed the Sports Desk and managed a team of 10 journalists.
- Covered Parliament proceedings, Ministries, and Policy Developments, building deep understanding of legislative and bureaucratic processes.
- Have covered World Cup finals in three different sports - Hockey (2010), Football (2010), and Cricket (2011).
- Wrote syndicated columns (Gloves Off) for Business Standard.
Trainee Reporter,
The Telegraph (ABP Group)
Kolkata
07.2005 - 09.2006
- Reported on city events and domestic and local sports tournaments.
- Assisted in production of pages and copy editing of stories.
Education
PG Diploma - Strategic Digital Marketing
Great Lakes Institute of Management
Gurgaon2021
PG Diploma - English Journalism
Indian Institute of Mass Communications
Dhenkanal2005
Bachelor of Arts - Journalism and Mass Communications
University of Calcutta
Kolkata2004
Skills
- Corporate Communications
- Policy Advocacy
- Annual Reports and White Papers
- Corporate Affairs
- Crisis Communications
- News Room Management
- Events and Press Meets
- Government Relations
- Video Productions
- Social Media
Languages
English
Proficient
C2
Bengali
Proficient
C2
Hindi
Proficient
C2
Timeline
Head of PR,
Paisabazaar (PB Fintech)
04.2023 - Current
Head of PR,
Justdial (Reliance Retail)
08.2021 - 03.2023
Senior Communications Manager,
Magicbricks (Times Group)
03.2017 - 08.2021
Corporate Communications Manager,
Aircel
09.2015 - 03.2017
Corporate Communications Manager,
Star TV (21st Century Fox)
11.2014 - 09.2015
Deputy Editor,
Indo-Asian News Service
09.2006 - 11.2014
Trainee Reporter,
The Telegraph (ABP Group)
07.2005 - 09.2006
PG Diploma - Strategic Digital Marketing
Great Lakes Institute of Management
PG Diploma - English Journalism
Indian Institute of Mass Communications
Bachelor of Arts - Journalism and Mass Communications
University of Calcutta