Footwear retailer Bata India Ltd. has announced the appointment of Gunjan Shah as its new chief executive officer succeeding Sandeep Kataria who was elevated as the global CEO of Bata Brands last year.
Shah is set to join Bata on 21 June and will be based out of the company’s Gurugram office. Shah has been appointed as a whole-time director of the company for a period of five years with effect from June 21, 2021, the company said.
Shah will join Bata India from Britannia Industries Ltd where he was chief commercial officer.
“Gunjan has extensive experience of working across varied sectors spanning consumer durables, telecom and FMCG. He brings to the table an innate knack for understanding consumers, passion for action, people development experience and clarity of thought and purpose. In his previous role, Gunjan was the Chief Commercial Officer at Britannia Industries. He spent the early stages of his career working with brands such as Asian Paints and Motorola before moving on to Britannia in 2007,” the footwear major said.
Bata India is the largest footwear retailer in India with brands such as Bata, Hush Puppies, Naturalizer, Power, Marie Claire, Weinbrenner, North Star, Scholl, among others.
It retails in more than 1,600 Bata owned and franchised stores. Bata also retails through thousands of multi-brand footwear stores across India apart from sales online.
Shah understands the Indian market’s complexities and varied nuances backed by decades of experience working with powerhouse brands, said Ashwani Windlass, chairman, Bata India Ltd.
Shah holds a Bachelor of Technology (Computers) from VJTI, Mumbai and a postgraduate diploma in management from the Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata.
“As an iconic brand, Bata has become an integral part of the Indian fabric. I realise that I have big shoes to fill in and I’m thrilled about working with the talented & experienced Bata team. I look forward to building on the legacy of my predecessors in taking the Bata brand to new heights alongside creating long term sustainable value for all stakeholders in the company,” said Shah.
