Reliance Consumer Finance Ltd. & Reliance Home Finance Ltd.
Rajesh Chakrabarti (aka RC) began his career as a research analyst for ORG Kolkata. Thus began a long and illustrious career that has spanned many leading organisations, and diverse profiles.
The path from ever-curious, dynamic thinking research analyst to CMO of Reliance Consumer Finance – part of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group’s Reliance Capital – has been a wide and interesting one.
He moved to Mumbai in 1996, in search of fresh challenges, and found them in the Anand Bazar Patrika Group, where he looked after sales for The Telegraph and ABP. He moved out of the ABP Group in 1999 as the in-charge of special features. From there, it was on to Buena Vista where, until 2002, he handled advertising, sales and merchandising for the internet, television and content spaces.
Stints in Radio City 91.1 FM (as the advertising head for the West and East zones), UTV (as its national head for sales, and also as part of the co-credit committee), Hungama TV, Sun TV and Doordarshan (in acquisitions and sales) followed. Until, RC decided he wanted to change gears again, and moved into the finance category as Head – Marketing & Product Research at the Development Credit Bank, where he was instrumental in the re-branding the bank as DCB.
As head of marketing and brand building for the consumer finance and home finance businesses of Reliance Capital Ltd., he found himself with quite a challenge on his hands.
The economy was facing some rough times, and Reliance was a late entrant in an already crowded market, battling for the mindspace of the niche SENP audience.
It was a challenge RC was well up to.
Under his guidance, the category of lending – often seen as an unsavoury alternative that people are forced into due to financial shortcomings – took on a new image. Reliance Consumer Finance became a means for people to achieve their life’s biggest ambitions. Taking a loan began to be seen not as something to be ashamed of, but as something that was simply a tool for you to live life and conduct your business on your own terms.
