Harshal Thakkar
Sr VP Marketing, Retention & Digital Sales
Vadodara
Summary
Dedicated and result oriented professional with over 23 years of experience in Service Delivery, Sales, Retention, Channel Management, Profit Centre Management, Operations and Product Management in a very competitive environment. Strong business acumen in business expansion, resource management, budget & cost controls, financial evaluation and profitability objectives. Responsible for Active Base, Revenue Top Line, Bottom Line, EBITDA, Net Profitability. KPIs include Customer Acquisition, Retention, Collections Management, ARPU. Expertise in Man Management and Operations Management. Extensive experience in design and execution of wide range of marketing strategies to establish brand / product / market presence. Expertise in “Go to market” strategy, planning and sound knowledge of on ground execution which includes operations, channel and cost management. Possess excellent team building, leadership, relationship management and analytical skills. Ensure customer satisfaction & service delivery through Network Management team and Customer Care teams.
Senior executive leader with track record of driving strategic initiatives and delivering impactful results. Adept at fostering team collaboration and navigating complex organizational challenges. Skilled in strategic planning, financial management, and operations oversight. Valued for reliability, adaptability, and results-oriented approach.
Overview
1
1
Certification
24
24
years of professional experience
Work History
SR. VP MARKETING, CUSTOMER RETENTION & DIGITAL SALES
YOU Broadband India Ltd.
07.2024 - Current
- Launched a multi-channel digital strategy, boosting engagement & conversion rates by 30% Lead a team of 12 marketers, optimizing performance & implementing best practices for growth. Managing an annual marketing budget of 3 Cr, achieving a 4x ROI on campaigns. Managed BTL marketing campaigns, improved brand recall, revamped brand identity & messaging. Developed & implemented customer retention strategies resulting in improvement in 20% increase in customer loyalty. Analyzed customer feedback & behavior data to identify areas of improvement in retention efforts. Collaborated cross-functionally with sales & technical operations teams to align customer initiatives with overall business. Achieved 7% increase in revenue from existing base through content bundling and upgrades over last 1 year.
- Developed and implemented comprehensive business strategies to drive market expansion and revenue growth.
- Led strategic initiatives to enhance operational efficiency and customer satisfaction across diverse service offerings.
- Directed cross-functional teams to achieve project objectives, ensuring alignment with organizational goals.
- Analyzed market trends and competitive landscape to inform strategic decision-making processes.
- Oversaw budgeting and financial planning, optimizing resource allocation for maximum impact.
- Spearheaded digital transformation efforts, enhancing service delivery through innovative technology solutions.
- Delivered exceptional customer service by implementing best practices and fostering a culture of accountability within the organization.
- Developed and executed strategic initiatives to drive business growth, resulting in higher revenues and market share expansion.
- Developed innovative sales and marketing strategies to facilitate business expansion.
- Maintained P&L and shouldered corporate fiscal responsibility.
- Executed appropriate staffing and budgetary plans to align with business forecasts.
- Restructured departments for increased efficiency, optimizing resource allocation and improving communication between teams.
- Identified opportunities to improve business process flows and productivity.
- Collaborated with executive leadership team members on long-term strategic planning that ensured sustainable success for the company.
SBU HEAD
YOU BROADBAND India Ltd.
07.2022 - 06.2024
- Accountable for revenue & profitability targets of Gujarat cities. Responsible for 42% of overall revenue & 60% of the active base across cities. Ongoing P&L management via monthly flash updates and calls with finance /operations leadership. Planning & formulation of SBU strategy, execution, & implementation of core strategy. Partner with Finance and accounting for budgeting, forecasting, and capital expenditure requirements. Market insights / intelligence, data analytics, competition analysis. Organic & inorganic business growth. Review and approve payroll. Developed all process controls and metrics for daily management of business parameters. Mentor employees for career enrichment and advancement. Mastery of customer service management systems and databases. Developed & presented QBR documentation to show the progress of all departments.
DIRECTOR RETENTION & CUSTOMER SERVICE – RETAIL BROADBAND - NATIONAL PROFILE
YOU BROADBAND India Ltd.
08.2013 - 06.2022
- Accountable for existing base revenue, ARPU enhancement, retention & churn management. Managing total team strength of 125 executives, 15 TL’s, 10 Managers & 2 Regional heads. Achieved collection growth of 30% over a period of 2 years through various process initiatives on upsell and cross-sell. Tie up for various VAS services (Music, Games & Movies) for revenue growth and drive usage. Online revenue contribution grown to 75% of total collections which helped eliminate Channel model & also reduce direct manpower by 200 FOS. Spearheaded the development of CRM function for improving overall customer relationship, delivering reliable administrative support and customer service. Achieved 55% reduction on call center volumes through launch of service App & improving customer experience. Responsible for online sales, new business initiatives & tie ups.
ONLINE BUSINESS OPERATION & WI-FI HOT SPOTS DEVELOPMENT– AVP
YOU BROADBAND India Ltd.
12.2011 - 07.2013
- Responsible for online sales & retention revenue growth Wi-Fi Hot spot tie-ups across location Directly managing all web marketing efforts and significantly increased quality lead conversions from all sources, including: organic search, paid search, social media marketing Developed a highly effective social media content, message distribution and engagement platform which diversified our brand messaging channels, increased quality web visits and lead conversions. Achieved revenue growth of 95% on online modes in 6 months through process revamp, enabling various online payment modes for customers, Customer schemes and offers, Customer awareness and communication. 80 Hot Spot tie-ups across Maharashtra and Gujarat over 6 months which includes Mumbai airport and Delhi metro express stations. Responsible for revenue generation through paid Wi-Fi service and advertisements at hot spot locations Managing a team of 15 members including 1 AGM, 3 AM & 12 BDE for hotspot and online operations.
BUSINESS MANAGER – ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENT - MAHARASHTRA & SOUTH ZONE
YOU BROADBAND India Ltd.
10.2010 - 11.2011
- Responsible for Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Chennai and Gurgaon city Revenues, Net Profits, Active Base, Gross Churn, Net churn, ARPU of the Broadband Business. Tasked with Responsibility of making the business self-sustainable and EBITDA positive. Accomplished the same with Revenue Increase Measures, Costs Control and Productivity Enhancing initiatives. Spearheading the product portfolio - new products concepts, pricing, revenue , profitability and regulatory compliance across product categories Responsible for ARPU and product wise financial indicators. Management of Sales, Retention, Operations & Customer service team across the cities with manpower strength of 5 AGM, 15 AMs, 22 Team Leaders and 150 FOS – off rolls. Managing 10 Channel Partners across all the cities. New product initiatives such as VOIP services, Wireless and VAS services for Broadband subscribers. Increase Revenues by launching products leveraging existing technical capacities. Understanding Consumer Behavior, Usage Patterns and have products that suit company objectives, channel objectives and based on consumer need. Experience in critical operations across functions such as sales, marketing, customer services, call center, Technology and Network as part of go to market strategy Training of channel – Internal sales team, FOS, Franchisees, Retail …etc Customer Service Camps to address service issues. BTL activities and Lead Generation initiatives for customer acquisition.
SERVICE DELIVERY HEAD – ASSISTANT MANAGER – ALL INDIA
YOU BROADBAND India Ltd.
01.2008 - 01.2010
- Defining Provisioning/Service Activation/Billing Processes for Broadband/VOIP/Gaming/Digital Video business. Responsible for design of back office processes/workflows for triple play operations(Data/Video/Voice) Leading a team of professionals, Handling Provisioning of CPE, Home Gateway, VOIP devices & Layer-3 connected internet customers through Metasolv/Portal (OSS/BSS). Designing network structures in METASOLV. New product testing and deployment on systems. Business Analysis and MIS reporting for various functions and Operational parameters. Responsible for TAT of all customer related transactions as defined in QMS Heading revenue assurance for broadband business.
BUSINESS HEAD – PRIMARY POINTS-DIGITAL- DOPL
YOU BROADBAND India Ltd.
01.2006 - 01.2008
- Responsible for primary point acquisitions in Bangalore, Vizag and Mumbai. Responsible for setup box sales, Primary point collections, enhancing revenue through triple play services. Due diligence and evaluation of network buyouts. Achieved 99% of collections for 2 years across all the primary point buyouts. Designing and Implementation of in house subscriber management system & Inventory Management system for STB provisioning and stock movement across cities. Implementation of per day billing system for ad on package sales. Automation of ALL MIS through system for point movements, STB sales, Stock inventory and services.
SERVICE DELIVERY HEAD – ASSISTANT MANAGER – ALL INDIA
YOU BROADBAND India Ltd.
01.2004 - 01.2006
- Defining Provisioning/Service Activation/Billing Processes for Broadband/VOIP/Gaming/Digital Video business. Responsible for design of back office processes/workflows for triple play operations(Data/Video/Voice) Leading a team of professionals, Handling Provisioning of CPE, Home Gateway, VOIP devices & Layer-3 connected internet customers through Metasolv/Portal (OSS/BSS). Designing network structures in METASOLV. New product testing and deployment on systems. Business Analysis and MIS reporting for various functions and Operational parameters. Responsible for TAT of all customer related transactions as defined in QMS Heading revenue assurance for broadband business.
BACK OFFICE EXECUTIVE
YOU BROADBAND India Ltd.
01.2002 - 01.2006
- Handling customer Creation, Provisioning, Renewals in Metasolv application. Handling Portal billing software for commercial queries and service credits. Ensuring TAT for back end related customer issues. Managing refunds & disconnections Managing inventory of stock related to back end requirements. Daily MIS on productivity and TAT for all back office transactions.
Education
Diploma -
Bharati Vidyapeeth
MumbaiPGDBA -
Symbiosis Institute of Business Management
PuneSoftware Graduation - undefined
National Institute of Information Technology
Mumbai, Maharashtraundefined
Asset International
Mumbai, Maharashtraundefined
P.G Garodia International School
MumbaiSkills
Customer Acquisition, Retention & Service delivery
Brand Strategy & Positioning
Profit Centre Management
Operations and Channel Management
Business planning, designing processes & development
Team Leadership
CRM & Marketing Automation
Product Management
Strategic leadership
Operational excellence
Certification
Fundamentals of AI for Business by Wharton University, Finance for non-finance from EY
Timeline
SR. VP MARKETING, CUSTOMER RETENTION & DIGITAL SALES
YOU Broadband India Ltd.
07.2024 - Current
SBU HEAD
YOU BROADBAND India Ltd.
07.2022 - 06.2024
DIRECTOR RETENTION & CUSTOMER SERVICE – RETAIL BROADBAND - NATIONAL PROFILE
YOU BROADBAND India Ltd.
08.2013 - 06.2022
ONLINE BUSINESS OPERATION & WI-FI HOT SPOTS DEVELOPMENT– AVP
YOU BROADBAND India Ltd.
12.2011 - 07.2013
BUSINESS MANAGER – ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENT - MAHARASHTRA & SOUTH ZONE
YOU BROADBAND India Ltd.
10.2010 - 11.2011
SERVICE DELIVERY HEAD – ASSISTANT MANAGER – ALL INDIA
YOU BROADBAND India Ltd.
01.2008 - 01.2010
BUSINESS HEAD – PRIMARY POINTS-DIGITAL- DOPL
YOU BROADBAND India Ltd.
01.2006 - 01.2008
SERVICE DELIVERY HEAD – ASSISTANT MANAGER – ALL INDIA
YOU BROADBAND India Ltd.
01.2004 - 01.2006
BACK OFFICE EXECUTIVE
YOU BROADBAND India Ltd.
01.2002 - 01.2006
undefined
P.G Garodia International School
undefined
Asset International
Software Graduation - undefined
National Institute of Information Technology
Diploma -
Bharati Vidyapeeth
PGDBA -
Symbiosis Institute of Business Management