Pranjal Saikia

July 2019 till date - Country Head India

• Managing entire Country operations Corporate , B2B and GSA business. Effectively managed team strength of 350 employees including GSA employees spread across 16 locations and 10 states in India.
• Brought synergies in GSA and travel verticals to introduce MICE and Leisure products to B2B Clients.
• Renegotiated Real Estate contracts, spearheaded overhaul of various under performing departments to reduce stagnation and increase growth and productivity. Centralized and synchronized multiple operations for cost savings.

Key Achievements :

Corporate Vertical : Increased sales by 173% from 275 Mil to 749 Mil. Gross profit margins also increased from 5.6% to 9% excluding productivity linked earnings.

B2B Vertical : Consciously reduced sales in Air travel segment and introduced new products. Reduced sales by 26.9% from 828 Mil to 605 Mil but increasing gross margins from 5.7% to 7.3%

August 2018 - June 2019 - Chief Commercial Officer - Cozmo Corporate Travel Management (Corporate Vertical)

• Established Corporate Vertical for Cozmo.
• Business and growth strategy.
• Recruitment and training of employees.
• Negotiating and contracting with various principal suppliers both existing and new.
• Created image and recall of CCTM brand.

Key Achievements :

Corporate Travel Management : Developed brand recall of Cozmo in Corporate segment and acquired many prestigious clients like Samsung SDS, Quippo, ANI Technologies , NTT and many more

MICE : In parallel achieved prestigious wins from Client like Gigabyte, S chand, Volvo, Konica Minolta , Usha Group, Apollo Munich Health Insurance , JK cements and many more.

Govt Events : Realized potential of trade councils and developed business under and traded with Many councils like EEPC, SEPC, PHD chanber of commerce , TPCI.

• Strategizing on how to scale corporate travel vertical from wholesale and B2B business for last 25 years.
• Formulating and Monitoring sales incentives programs for achieving quarterly targets.
• Maintaining relations with Lufthansa City Centre.
• Developing, implementing and monitoring all operational and financial policies and procedures

Key Achievements

• Profitable business results year on year..
• Rebranded corporate vertical using tools available under as Franchise of Lufthansa City centre.
• Existing distribution platform was enhanced and rebranded . Many other technological advancements using existing suppliers achieved,

• Acquired necessary accreditation like IATA and other affiliations
• Developed go to market Strategy , starting from naming brands to execution of strategy.
• Spearheaded and developed booking portal and distribution platform across various brands .
• Developing and implementing all operational and financial policies and procedures.
• Steering sales activities including strategy and development for entire country operations.
• Establishing key relationships with suppliers

Key Achievements

Had established three different brands for different verticals.

PlanMice : Dedicated vertical for MICE, established its standings and transactions with biggest brands in marketplace.

Oneforallevents : Dedicated events vertical

Morethantickets.com : Dedicated B2B portal to sell services beyond ticketing. Was transacting with more than 200 travel agencies .

Aggressively recruited best talent in country in less than 03 months starting from vertical heads to product heads and sales force.

• Managed and Steered marketing activities including strategy and development for entire country.
• Effectively Established key relationships with International airlines and offshore suppliers.

Career Path

Travel Counsellor Mar’99 - Apr’00

Assistant Manager - International Apr’00 - Jan’02

Branch Manager, Bangalore Jan’02 – Mar’04

Vice President South Apr’04 – Apr’08

Entrusted with responsibility of South Indian market. Instrumental in creating new business opportunities by adding new locations like Mysore, Coimbatore, Vizag, Mangalore, Trivandrum and call centre.

Vice President: North, East, South India and Global Accounts May’08 – Mar’2010

• Developed and implemented all operational and financial policies and procedures
• Steered marketing activities including strategy and development for entire country
• Established key relationships with airlines, key accounts and media.

Key Achievements

Performed P&L management, financial forecasting and managed annual turnover of 8400 Mil with profit margin .

A year on year business growth of 22.70% in 2005-06; 35.55% in 2006-07; 31.19%in 2007-08 and 11.81%in 2008-09.

Distinction of establishing entire process of setting up and running a profitable branch in Bangalore and replicating the model in various other markets

Set up a 20-seater call centre in Bangalore catering to off shore business

Exhibited capability in establishing various branches in the country

Effectively developed many corporate tie-ups with various airlines

Played a key role in: Pricing, marketing and sales strategy, setting and achieving revenue targets, budgeting and accounting and setting up an internal booking and accounting system.

Carried out all recruiting, training, and staff management.

Oversaw staffing at 13 offices and responsible for 600 people all over India

Initiated online solution for FCm. Product was launched in Jan’09, which enabled company to cater to SME segment, which was somehow elusive

Conducted hospitality training programs for the staff in various occasions

• Nov’98 – Feb’99 Narula Travels Pvt Ltd., New Delhi Senior Counter Executive
• Jan’97 – Oct’98 Waymarkers Travel & Tours Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi Business Development Executive.
• Apr’96 – Dec’96 liaising officer Freelance
• Dec’94 – Mar’96 Holiday Maker India Pvt Ltd., New Delhi Counter Executive
• May’94 – Dec’94 HM Travels and Tours Management Trainee