Deputy Chief Marketing Officer - Category & Product Strategy - FMCG

Deputy Chief Marketing Officer (Dy. CMO) Location: Gurugram Reporting To: Chairman Team Reporting: 10-12 Category Heads & Product Heads Experience: 15-22 Years Preferred Industry: FMCG (Tier-1 organizations) Role Purpose: The Deputy Chief Marketing Officer will be responsible for driving the company's overall category and product strategy, portfolio management, innovation agenda, consumer insights, and long-term growth roadmap. Reporting directly to the Chairman, the incumbent will lead multiple Category and Product Heads to build winning category strategies, strengthen product competitiveness, identify new growth opportunities, and drive profitable business expansion. This is a strategic business leadership role requiring strong commercial acumen, deep consumer understanding, and the ability to translate market insights into category growth. The role will work closely with Sales, R&D, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Finance, and Leadership to shape the future product portfolio. This role will NOT be responsible for: - Trade Marketing - Digital Marketing - Media Planning - Brand Communications - PR & Corporate Communications - Advertising Execution Key Responsibilities: Category Strategy: - Develop long-term category growth strategies aligned with the company's business vision. - Identify future growth opportunities across existing and adjacent categories. - Drive category profitability, market share, and revenue growth. - Build category roadmaps for the next 35 years. Portfolio Management: - Lead portfolio architecture across all product categories. - Optimize product mix, pricing ladders, premiumization, and portfolio rationalization. - Drive lifecycle management from ideation to phase-out. - Monitor portfolio profitability and investment priorities. Consumer & Market Insights: - Institutionalize consumer-centric decision-making. - Translate consumer behavior, market trends, and competitive intelligence into business opportunities. - Lead consumer research and category diagnostics. - Build a strong market intelligence capability. Product Strategy & Innovation: - Lead new product development strategy. - Identify white-space opportunities. - Drive innovation pipeline and product roadmap. - Partner with R&D to launch differentiated products. - Establish Stage-Gate innovation governance. Category Leadership: - Lead and mentor 1012 Category and Product Heads. - Build high-performance category teams. - Establish clear KPIs and governance mechanisms. - Drive accountability across product portfolios. Business Planning: - Lead Annual Operating Plan (AOP) for categories. - Define growth priorities. - Own category business cases. - Support investment decisions with financial analysis. Commercial Strategy: - Partner with Sales on pricing strategy. - Recommend assortment strategy. - Define channel-specific product strategy. - Evaluate new business opportunities. Cross Functional Leadership: Work closely with Sales, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, R&D, Finance, Procurement, Quality, and Customer Service to ensure successful execution of category plans. Chairman's Office: Act as a strategic advisor to the Chairman by providing category performance reviews, business opportunity assessments, market intelligence, growth strategy recommendations, competitive benchmarking, and innovation pipeline updates. Key Deliverables: - Sustainable category growth - Market share expansion - Successful product innovation pipeline - Improved portfolio profitability - Consumer-led business decisions - Faster product commercialization - Strong category governance - Leadership capability development Ideal Candidate Profile: Experience: - 15-22 years of experience. - Currently leading multiple categories/business units. - Experience managing large category portfolios. - Strong exposure to innovation and portfolio strategy. - Experience working directly with CXOs or business leaders. Functional Expertise: - Category Management, Consumer Insights, Portfolio Strategy, Product Strategy, Innovation Management, Brand Strategy, Business Planning, Pricing Strategy, Market Intelligence, Commercial Strategy, P&L Understanding, and Cross-functional Leadership. Leadership Competencies: - Strategic Thinking, Consumer Obsession, Commercial Acumen, Innovation Mindset, Business Judgement, Executive Presence, Influencing without Authority, Analytical Thinking, Team Leadership, Change Leadership, Growth Orientation, and Stakeholder Management. Education: - MBA from a premier institute (Tier-1/Tier-2 preferred). - Engineering or Science background will be an advantage.