Bajaj Auto has roped in Deepika Warrier as head of marketing. Prior to this, she was Diageo India’s chief marketing officer.
Warrier joined Diageo India in 2020 from packaged foods and beverages company PepsiCo India to lead the marketing function of the makers of Smirnoff vodka and Johnnie Walker scotch whiskey.
Warrier spent 20 years with Pepsico, where she was instrumental in driving strategic development, innovation, brand equity enhancement and resource allocation across a range of beverages, and juice-based drinks. Warrier was the MD and CEO at NourishCo Beverages. She was also the vice president, nutrition category for PepsiCo India as well as PepsiCo AMENA (Asia, Middle East and North Africa), based out of Dubai. As the CMO for PepsiCo India, where she handled a portfolio of over brands like Lay’s, Kurkure, Quaker Oats, Pepsi, Mountain Dew, among others.
Warrier has also worked with companies like Gillette, Ogilvy and Mather and Britannia Industries.
Warrier holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Lady Shri Ram College for Women and has a masters in business administration specialising in marketing from Indian Institute of Management.
Warrier shared about her journey at Diageo, “Don’t know how 3 years flew by. I joined Diageo in the midst of COVID, as we made sanitisers and supplied oxygen units to remote corners of the country, and our plants and sales teams worked relentlessly to supply our liquor brands to Indians who were looking for reasons to celebrate at home.”
She added, “We then ‘Raised the bar’ and helped hospitality partners and welcomed our consumers to walk in with Johnnie and Revibe the night with their No1Yaars… And in the past 3 years I’ve learnt the power of progressive marketing, truly walking the talk on inclusion and diversity, embedding sustainability meaningfully in our brands, and bringing our powerful global brands and categories to India and taking our beautiful and sustainable craft expressions to the world Godawan. And most of all I’ve enjoyed working on some of the best brands in the world and in India and partnering and learning from the India Excom, DILT, the Global Marketing Leadership team and most of all the hugely talented Diageo India extended marketing team who believe in creativity under constraints, passionately nurturing insight and purpose driven brands and delivering the best ever experientials and innovations to reshape the category and make it future ready.”
Last year, in a special piece Warrier wrote for Storyboard18, she spoke about her mother’s role in shaping her journey and who she is. Warrier said of her mother, “She quietly and uncompromisingly enabled her two daughters, my conformist sister and me, the rebel, to achieve their potential, with the right nudges, and with unflinching support when I took the wrong turns.
She was a bit incredulous when I started my management career, doubted my planning and execution skills (I was a bit of a klutz at home!), but knew that my confidence, gift of the gab and ability to put people at ease would be my saviour. Her favourite maxim, lovingly lampooned by her grandchildren, is “There is no point crying over spilt milk”, that underlined her down-to-earth philosophy to keep moving forward with no regrets.”