Lakshmikant Gupta, known as simply as “Lk” in the industry, started his career in marketing in 1991. Upon graduating with a diploma in business management from IMT, Ghaziabad, he was picked up by IMRB. For the next 4½ years, Lk honed his skills on consumer understanding through market research projects for a diverse set of companies like Gillette, Nestle, Dabur, Escorts, Eicher and many more. This was the formative years in which he came to closely understand consumer behavior with respect to brand perceptions, usage and habits, preferences and loyalty.
In 1996, when Gillette India was hiring for a new position of Media and Market research Manager, they got Lk aboard. During 1996 – 1999, Lk handled research as well as media planning and buying for all Gillette company brands such as Gillette, Oral-B, Braun and Duracell. This stint saw him consolidating the company’s advertising spending to make operations more efficient, whilst also develop the consumer insight function not only in Gillette’s Indian operations but also in neighbouring markets of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. He was also member of the core team that oversaw the integration of Duracell acquisition into Gillette.
Lk then moved within Gillette to handle bigger responsibilities at regional level in 1999. He joined Gillette Middle East and Africa region as Regional Media and Market Research Manager based in Dubai. This stint gave him wide exposure and experience across a huge cross-section of markets and cultures, ranging from Morocco in the west to Pakistan in the east, Lebanon in the north to South Africa at the antipodes.
The next logical move was to handle mainstream business responsibilities. Lk took the opportunity in 2004, when he moved as Regional Business Manager for Oral-B brand for MEA region. For the low growth business the first thing that Lk did was to do cluster mapping of the 60+ countries, and re-draft countrywise strategy as per their market development as relative brand strength. He put together high-growth plans in critical markets like South Africa, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Iran, galvanizing his brand to grow 100% within two years in MEA, and growing market shares in all important countries.
P&G acquired Gillette company in 2005, and started the formal integration process in 2006. Due to his track record, Lk was among those select few business managers who were given charge of a P&G brand at the very onset of the integration. Thus during 2006-07, Lk headed a team that stewarded the brands Crest and Oral-B for the Arabian Peninsula. The complicated task of putting together a consolidated strategy with the two brands was taken to fruition over this period, after which Lk decided to return to India to look for more growth.
Since 2007, Lk has guided LG brand as the Chief Marketing Officer at LG Electronics India. His main focus has been on setting brand reposition strategy, building a team of strong marketing professionals and instituting robust processes to strengthen marketing capabilities. In the last 2 ½ years LG has dramatically increased awareness and preference among consumers, while a new look advertising and retail visibility strategy has unfolded successfully. Lk’s next target is for LG to be recognized by consumers and experts among the top 5 admired and respected brands in India.
