WOMAN LEADERS SPECIAL............... India Inc's Rising Women Leaders 2015 (6)

WOMAN LEADERS SPECIAL India Inc's Rising Women Leaders 2015 (6)

Simeran BHASIN 37

CMO, Wildcraft

Back in 2003-04, Simeran Bhasin, then a young executive at Titan Industries was given the task of relauching Fastrack, a struggling brand. After putting in a year and a half of conceptualizing new products, it was time to look at what market research had to say about the prototypes. The research done by the ad agency was unanimous in its findings: the prototypes simply won't work. Bhasin stood her ground and Titan decided to go ahead with the launch despite the negative feedback. Today, Fastrack has morphed from a single product fuddy-duddy watch brand to a `with it' brand which sells sunglasses, bags, belts.

“That experience taught me the value of trusting my own instincts,“ says Bhasin, who is now the Chief Marketing Officer at Bangalore based outdoor brand Wildcraft, after spending 13 years at Titan. At Wildcraft, Bhasin has led the company's foray into outdoor clothing and launched the company's new brand identity.What are Bhasin's future plans? “I take things as they come. I am glad to be part of a company that is creating India's outdoors culture from scratch,“ says Bhasin.

The glass ceiling:

“Doesn't exist. What exists is workplace politics which affects both men and women ­ some are good at dealing with it, others aren't“

Advice for women:

“Society perpetuates a need to be perfect for women. Don't fall into the trap and feel guilty“

CDET27MAR15