PRASHANT SHARDA
Vice President - Strategic Partnerships
Noida
Summary
Digital growth leader with 20 years across OTT, ad-tech, SaaS, e-commerce, and fintech. Combines product strategy, ad sales, performance marketing, and partnerships to scale platforms and monetization. Proven in P&L ownership, funnel and pricing optimization, and leveraging AI to drive acquisition, engagement, and revenue. Experienced in leading large cross-functional teams and building high-performance cultures across digital businesses.
Overview
20
20
years of professional experience
2
2
years of post-secondary education
Work History
VP - Strategic Partnerships & Ads Monetisation
Pocket FM
10.2021 - 07.2023
- Owned ₹85 Cr P&L across subscriptions, GTM, and ad sales; improved ARPU by 14%, ad yield by 26%, and CAC by 18% through data-led funnel and pricing optimization.
- Closed 10+ high-impact distribution & monetization deals with Airtel, Jio, Samsung, Flipkart, expanding reach to 100 M+ users.
- Led ad sales strategy, including branded content, direct brand deals, and performance campaigns; increased ad revenue by 30 % QoQ.
- Oversaw budget management and resource allocation for multiple projects, ensuring alignment with organizational goals.
- Launched performance marketing experiments across Google, Meta, and telco inventory; optimized creatives & placements, improving ROAS 2.4x.
- Mentored 25-member team across BD, ad ops, sales & growth; drove 90 % OKR achievement.
AVP - Global Business Operations & Ad Tech
Comviva Technologies (Tech Mahindra)
05.2020 - 10.2021
- Managed SaaS subscription business and ad-tech monetization as dual revenue engines; led pricing, renewals, upsell, and lifecycle GTM for telco clients globally.
- Led cross-functional teams to drive product development initiatives, enhancing collaboration between engineering, marketing, and sales departments.
- Managed ₹130 Cr P&L across 50+ telco partners; improved EBITDA +18 % YoY.
- Directed regional sales & monetization strategy across SEA & MENA; tripled programmatic revenue.
- Led cross-regional sales enablement, pricing ops, and monetization campaigns.
- Negotiated long-term commercial contracts; built deal frameworks to reduce revenue leakage & improve margins.
Founder
Fundoo Internet Services
01.2018 - 04.2020
- Managed end-to-end e-commerce operations including merchant acquisition, product sourcing, category and inventory management, supply chain and delivery management, CRM, digital marketing, order fulfillment, and customer lifecycle strategies.
- Built & scaled a D2C Shopify business; handled sales, marketing, operations and customer experience.
- Managed paid campaigns across Meta & Google; ROAS sustained at 3.2x.
Lead - Customer Activation
Disney+ Hotstar
11.2016 - 12.2017
- Led OTT subscription GTM for Disney+ Hotstar via telcos, wallets, and OEMs (Jio, Airtel, Vodafone, Paytm, Samsung, Xiaomi); launched prepaid bundles and device tie-ups that added 2.5M+ users in 6 months.
- Conceptualized and executed co-branded campaigns across recharge, reward, and wallet ecosystems; improved trial-to-paid OTT conversion by 83%.
- Built acquisition-to-activation partner funnels; collaborated with product & marketing teams to align telco/OEM-led growth with revenue KPIs.
Head - Business Development & Strategy
Times Internet - NewsPoint App
04.2015 - 11.2016
- Company Overview: News Aggregation & services App | Times Group
- Launched regional news and entertainment app; built 100+ publisher network and led branded content monetization from Day 1.
- Scaled platform to 15M+ MAUs with strong revenue run-rate through native ad stack and OEM tie-ups.
Director - Strategic Alliances & Growth
UCWeb (Alibaba Group)
01.2012 - 01.2015
- Company Overview: Mobile Browser + Content Platform | India Operations
- Led India growth for UC Browser; scaled to 50M+ MAUs via content, OEM, telco, and affiliate partnerships.
- Launched UC News, UC Cricket, UC Rail & App Store; drove engagement and monetization with premium publishers & IPs.
- Owned ad monetization (CPC, CPI, CPM models); delivered ₹100 Cr annual revenue across browser and app store inventory.
- Collaborated with global product teams in China to launch new verticals and unlock alternate revenue streams.
VP - Digital Strategy & Monetization
India TV
01.2010 - 01.2012
- Company Overview: Leading Hindi News Channel | Digital Business
- Led digital transformation at India TV; launched web & mobile platforms, scaled traffic 12x, and built ₹8 Cr digital revenue by Year 2 — among top early Hindi news portals.
Business Development & Product Marketing - Apps, Content & Services
Nokia India Pvt. Ltd.
05.2010 - 03.2012
Sr. Manager - Alliances & Marketing
NDTV Convergence Ltd.
06.2007 - 04.2010
Manager - Strategic Marketing Alliances
Times Internet Ltd. (Indiatimes.com)
05.2004 - 05.2007
Brand Management Trainee
SIEL Ltd.
04.2003 - 05.2004
Education
MBA - Marketing Management
The Indian Institute of Planning And Management
Delhi, India 04.2001 - 01.2003
B.Com. - undefined
Bhagat Singh College
Skills
Team leadership
Strategic planning
Coaching and mentoring
Decision-making
Process improvement
Negotiation and persuasion
Risk management
Training and mentoring
Critical thinking
Business development
Presentations
Operations management
Recruiting and hiring
Staff development
Data analysis
Complex Problem-solving
Timeline
VP - Strategic Partnerships & Ads Monetisation
Pocket FM
10.2021 - 07.2023
AVP - Global Business Operations & Ad Tech
Comviva Technologies (Tech Mahindra)
05.2020 - 10.2021
Founder
Fundoo Internet Services
01.2018 - 04.2020
Lead - Customer Activation
Disney+ Hotstar
11.2016 - 12.2017
Head - Business Development & Strategy
Times Internet - NewsPoint App
04.2015 - 11.2016
Director - Strategic Alliances & Growth
UCWeb (Alibaba Group)
01.2012 - 01.2015
Business Development & Product Marketing - Apps, Content & Services
Nokia India Pvt. Ltd.
05.2010 - 03.2012
VP - Digital Strategy & Monetization
India TV
01.2010 - 01.2012
Sr. Manager - Alliances & Marketing
NDTV Convergence Ltd.
06.2007 - 04.2010
Manager - Strategic Marketing Alliances
Times Internet Ltd. (Indiatimes.com)
05.2004 - 05.2007
Brand Management Trainee
SIEL Ltd.
04.2003 - 05.2004
MBA - Marketing Management
The Indian Institute of Planning And Management
04.2001 - 01.2003
B.Com. - undefined
Bhagat Singh College
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