VICE PRESIDENT – MARKETING, ARISTON GROUP INDIA
Prashant Dhar
Prashant Dhar is the Vice President – Marketing at Ariston Group India, where he leads the strategic marketing and brand agenda for Racold Water Heating Solutions. In his current role, he is responsible for strengthening Racold's premium positioning, driving product innovation and consumer engagement, and reinforcing the brand's leadership in India's water heating market. He is focused on building a future-ready brand by combining consumer insights, driving product development, digital innovation and meaningful brand experiences, while supporting Ariston Group India's vision of making Racold India's most preferred water heater brand.
With over 25 years of experience across leading global and Indian organisations, Prashant has built and transformed brands across the consumer durables, FMCG and lifestyle sectors. Before returning to Ariston Group India in his current role, he led Marketing at A. O. Smith India. Earlier, he headed Marketing and E- commerce for Ariston Group in India after taking on an international assignment as Group Head – Digital Marketing, based at the company's global headquarters in Milan, Italy. His experience across Indian and international markets has given him a unique perspective on combining global best practices with local consumer insights.
Over the course of his career, Prashant has played a key role, as a business leader, in building and strengthening brands including Racold Water Heaters, A. O. Smith Water Heaters and Water Purifiers, Aquaguard Water Purifiers, Godrej Appliances and White Mischief Vodka. His expertise spans brand strategy, product strategy, digital transformation and integrated marketing, enabling brands to build stronger consumer connections and deliver sustainable and profitable business growth.
A strong advocate of insight-led marketing, Prashant believes that meaningful brands are built by staying close to consumers, embracing innovation and combining creativity with disciplined execution. Throughout his career, he has championed marketing strategies that have unlocked new growth opportunities, strengthened brand equity and delivered measurable business outcomes.
Prashant's contributions to the marketing profession have earned him several industry recognitions. Apart from leading multiple award winning campaigns, he was recognised among the Most Talented CMOs of India 2015 by CMO Asia, received the Most Talented Marketing Professional Award 2014 from the World Marketing Congress, and was named among the Top 50 Most Talented CMOs of India 2013 by the CMO Council of the World Brand Congress. He is also a recognised industry voice on branding, product management, consumer behaviour and marketing strategy, and has contributed his perspectives to leading business and marketing publications over the years.