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SAURABH SINGHAL
Director - Business Development
Bengaluru
Summary
- 14+ years experience in Business Development, Strategy & Planning, Tendering & Contract Management, Procurement, Alliances & Partnerships, New Business Setup & Expansion, and P&L Management.
- Expertise in Business Development across Duty Free, Retail, F&B and Lounges formats.
- Experience in Commercial Strategy (Space Planning, Partner engagement, and Onboarding).
- Spearheaded the planning and rollout of retail outlets across six airports in India.
- Worked on Joint Ventures and alliances for mutual business growth.
- Leading sustainability projects (sustainable commercial setup, EV Infrastructure, sustainable Water).
- Global exposure working in India (10+ years), Dubai (2 years), Singapore (1 year), and Fiji Islands (6 months).
Overview
16
16
years of professional experience
Work History
Director - Business Development
Airport Dimensions (a Collinson Company)
10.2023 - Current
- Spearheading the business strategy and development of Airport Lounges in the Indian Sub-continent
- Setting up the Indian subsidiary for the Airport Dimensions entity
- Working on a Joint Venture to explore more strategic opportunities in India
- Leading the Due Diligence with advisors and negotiating Shareholders Agreement
- Participating and submitting proposals for multiple tenders and RFPs across airports
- Networking within the industry to explore avenues for mutual growth and collaboration.
Asst. General Manager - Commercial Development
Bangalore International Airport Limited
12.2019 - 09.2023
- Worked towards the vision of making BLR Airport "a preferred destination for shopping and dining"
- Spearheaded more than $1 bn USD (Rs 8,500 crs) business deals across 40+ tenders, on-boarding many exclusive & luxury brands, many of which are coming first time in India
- Defined the entire space planning, on-boarding, and tendering strategy for entire T2 commercial setup (20,000 sqm+ space)
- Piloted the first Joint venture in BIAL, for operating Duty-Free business for a long-term partnership
- Managed diverse tenders and contracts across domains (Retail, Food & Beverage, Lounges, Pax Services)
- Led the Passenger experience Program conceptualization, combining 20+ services under one umbrella, becoming one of the few airports to launch seamless passenger services
- Led the conceptualization and execution of Arrivals experience & MMTH at BLR Airport.
- Re-defined the commercial policy to a risk-&-reward sharing model, which supported partners to stay afloat during the Pandemic, making BLR Airport "the preferred partner of choice"
- Strong focus on sustainability, LEED compliant construction, and community building projects
General Manager - Business Development & Airport Business
Hidesign India
02.2019 - 12.2019
- Spearheaded the Business Development function for Pan-India & Overseas expansion
- Expanded to 26 strategic locations across Airports, Malls, and Highstreets
- For airport business, managed the P&L of $8mn USD (Rs 65 crores) and operations responsibility
- Led the Regional BD Teams, Projects team and design teams
- Managed end-2-end store roll-outs: Scouting for new spaces, conducting pre-feasibility study, business estimation, commercial negotiations, participating in tenders, due diligence and finalizing legal agreements
- Managed relationships with key real-estate companies, IPCs, malls, airport teams etc
- Worked closely with projects team to ensure the stores are launched without any delays
- Supported HR team with hiring and mentoring of front-end team across locations.
Asst. General Manager - Strategy & Business Development
Flemingo Group (Duty Free And Master Concessions)
01.2013 - 01.2019
- Business Development, Space Planning and Partner on-boarding at airports
- Led the commercial space planning and retail partner on-boarding at five Indian airports: Kolkata, Indore, Raipur, Varanasi, Kannur Airport
- Worked on multiple Duty-Free and Duty Paid Airport tenders, RFPs, RFQs across geographies
- Won 9 out of 11 major Duty-Free tenders at AAI Indian Airports and Sri Lanka
- Managed end-2-end business development, including retail space planning, government approvals, partner on-boarding and negotiating with brands, local team setup, Design development and Project management
- Participated in international business expansions in new geographies (Egypt, Abu Dhabi, Indonesia, Turkey)
- For new stores: Designing store planograms
- Ensured optimum space utilization, creating HPP area, planning flow of customers, and optimum product mix
- Spearheaded the launch of in-flight duty free from inception for Jet Airways and Go Air, with annual revenues of more than US$ 3 mn
- Hired, trained, and mentored the entire team (35+ members) across six locations in India
- Managed product catalogue design, product listing and sourcing, advertising rate card, and printing
- Worked on cost reduction exercises through centralized bulk buying, industry benchmarking of competitors, volume level discounts, and brand staff sponsorships.
Presales Consultant (Telecom)
Wipro Limited
12.2010 - 11.2011
- Defined business cases for telecom OSS projects - order management, service activation, network discovery and reconciliation, inventory management, number management
- Handled vendor management and built new strategic partnerships with product vendors
- Handled CXO level presentations and demos for leading Telcos in Asia, Middle East, Africa, and UK
- Handled technical solutions for RFPs, and RFIs, tendering
- Partnering with Hardware providers for a submitting a comprehensive proposals.
Technical Associate
Tech Mahindra (Telecom)
07.2008 - 11.2010
- Learnt Oracle OSS telecom suite including Oracle UIM, Oracle OSM, Oracle Network discovery
- Handled project requirements for leading telecom providers in India, UAE and Fiji Islands
- Worked as a Business analyst and developer for various telecom projects
- Secured top rank during the three months training program of Tech Mahindra.
Education
Masters of Business Administration -
SP Jain School of Global Management
Singapore & Dubai 04.2001 -
B. Tech (Computer Science) -
Amity School of Engineering And Technology
Noida, India 04.2001 -
Skills
Planning & Strategy
Projects And Publications
- Research paper on Customers' expectations for next generation internet banking, published by World Scientific Publishing in JIKM.
- Consulting assignment for a leading Spanish label manufacturing firm to analyze the market attractiveness, market entry strategy, and cost reduction opportunities by setting up a production plant in India and UAE.
- White paper on how organizations can achieve enterprise mobility - BYOD (Bring-Your-Own-Device).
Interests
Adventure Sports: Rafting, Kayaking, Paragliding
Active member of Robin-Hood Army - Food Distribution, Make-A-Wish foundation
Timeline
Director - Business Development
Airport Dimensions (a Collinson Company)
10.2023 - Current
Asst. General Manager - Commercial Development
Bangalore International Airport Limited
12.2019 - 09.2023
General Manager - Business Development & Airport Business
Hidesign India
02.2019 - 12.2019
Asst. General Manager - Strategy & Business Development
Flemingo Group (Duty Free And Master Concessions)
01.2013 - 01.2019
Presales Consultant (Telecom)
Wipro Limited
12.2010 - 11.2011
Technical Associate
Tech Mahindra (Telecom)
07.2008 - 11.2010
Masters of Business Administration -
SP Jain School of Global Management
04.2001 -
B. Tech (Computer Science) -
Amity School of Engineering And Technology
04.2001 -