New Delhi: Perfetti Van Melle India (PVMI), the maker of Happydent chewing gum and Alpenliebe candy, has appointed Rajesh Ramakrishnan as managing director. In his new role, he will be responsible for the overall operations of the company for India and Nepal markets. Ramakrishnan will take over the responsibility from Ramesh Jayaraman who has been heading the India market since July 2012. He has moved to another role within the group.
Ramakrishnan joined Perfetti Van Melle in 2014 as the managing director for Bangladesh. In August 2017, he moved to India as the chief transformation officer working with the business teams in strategizing the business transformation project of the company to drive topline and bottom-line growth.
“Rajesh is an accomplished leader, who brings in a good mix of strategic thinking and operational excellence, with strong leadership skills. We are delighted to have him as our India head and wish him all the very best in his new role,” said Huub Sanders, president- business unit, South Asia, Middle East and Africa (SAMEA), Perfetti Van Melle in a statement.
A graduate of XLRI Jamshedpur and BITS Pilani, Ramakrishnan brings with him over 24 years of experience in diverse fields including sales, marketing and general management in Asia across categories like personal care, household care, foods and beverages, confectionery and media. Prior to joining Perfetti Van Melle in 2014, he was the marketing head at HT Media Limited. In India, he has also worked in various sales and marketing roles at fast moving consumer goods firm Pepsico, Marico Industries and Reckitt Benckiser.
Apart from work, Ramakrishnan loves photography and is passionate about travelling. He has been on expeditions to Everest Base Camp and Kilimanjaro.
PVMI is a fully-owned subsidiary of the global confectionary conglomerate Perfetti Van Melle, headquartered in Amsterdam. It started operations in India in 1994. Globally, the company sells to over 150 countries. In India, it markets a wide variety of products including jellies, gum and candy under brands like Center Fresh gum, Happydent chewing gum, Mentos, Chlormint, Alpenliebe candy and Chocolate Eclairs Plus, among others.