Ravikant Sabnavis

I mentor start-ups and entrepreneurs to help them grow their businesses, working with them across their journey of evolution. Charter Member, TiE - Mumbai Chapter; Member - Startups & Entrepreneurship sub-committee, CII Western Region.

Innovative Oral Care is a startup oral care products company that is charting a distinctive course as a Clinical cum D2C business with the Clove range of oral care products. We leverage the expertise of over 600 dentists at Clove Dental, India's largest dental clinic chain, in perfecting these products. Clove products (currently Clove Sensitive and Clove Power toothpastes) are nationally available on e-commerce platforms that include Amazon, Bigbasket, and Grofers besides the 340 clinics of Clove Dental across 24 cities. We are currently at the cusp of expanding our product range and extending our presence into Modern Trade.

At Star TV, I was heading Star Pravah, a regional entertainment channel of Star TV, with responsibility for the P&L, content, consumer insights and marketing. Over a five year period, I led a turnaround of the business, taking it to the No. 2 position in the category. This was done by putting together a talented team that created content which deeply resonated with viewers

In addition to my role as Head of Global Marketing of the Force India F1 Team, I took up the responsibility of leading a turnaround for Blitz, publisher of iconic movie magazine Cine Blitz and other lifestyle magazines. Over a two - year period, developed new revenue streams, repositioned existing brands and created a refreshed talent pool, with a blueprint for the future.

This role ran concurrently with my responsibilities at Kingfisher Airlines and Blitz Multimedia. Shaped the marketing strategy for the Force India F1 Team, building fan engagement globally and developing a following for the sport in India. Collaborated closely with sponsors and other partners to build equity for Force India, which helped grow preference amongst potential sponsors to come on board. Set up the Force India F1 Team Academy, with the objective of identifying and incubating young Indian talent to be future F1 drivers. A nationwide program to identify racing talent in the age group of 12-14 years was set up, adhering to global standards. The winner of this hunt is now competing in the F2 championships and has been onboarded onto the Red Bull junior driver program With the entry of a new co-owner, was co-opted as a permanent invitee on the Board of the Force India F1 Team and managed the task of cultural and functional integration of the team with the new co-owners

Transferred within the UB Group to head Marketing for two companies - Kingfisher Airlines and the Force India Formula 1 Team. At Kingfisher Airlines, led the effort to build the best experience on-air and on-ground to create an unrivalled product defined by outstanding service delivery and commanded a price premium for it - leading to Kingfisher being the most awarded airline in its time. Additionally, created an effective e-commerce and online brand platform and responsible for ancillary revenue through brand partnerships and in-flight advertising.

As Head of Marketing, I was responsible for building consumer preference for our portfolio of beer brands, including flagship Kingfisher, to drive growth for the business in a regulated and media dark environment. Launched new variants such as Kingfisher Blue and London Pilsner Strong to address rapidly increasing consumer preference for strong beer and Kingfisher Ultra, to take on new international entrants in the small but strategic premium beer category. Leveraged the brand’s association with various sports including football, formula 1, horse racing and cricket (IPL) to deliver differentiated brand experiences to our consumers. Also led the Future Business Group, an internal strategy think tank, to develop a new product development process and pipeline of products for the future. In addition, extended the Kingfisher brand into wines, with the launch of Kingfisher Bohemia.

Led expansion of usage for Glucon-D, a market leader in the powdered energy drink category, by creating a need beyond therapeutic usage, strengthening rural distribution and arresting the growth of look-alikes through packaging innovation. Consolidated growth of Complan, a milk food drink and Nycil prickly heat powder through launch of new flavours and extensions. Additionally, responsible for shaping the Heinz India strategy for driving growth in the Modern Trade channel for all brands.

As Sr. Area Sales Manager (Sep 03 to Mar 04), managed sales and distribution for flagship brand Sundrop edible oil and ACT II snack foods within the Western India region, strengthening distribution across retail formats and establishing the Sundrop Heart variant on the health platform in partnership with doctors. As Brand Manager (Sep 99 to Sep 03), launched the snack food portfolio in India, with ACT II Popcorn, pioneering in-home preparation of popcorn in microwave and cooker formats. Simultaneously, conceptualized and set up a new business of vending popcorn in institutional channels across the country.