Abhishek Chanda
Marketing

Lloyd Mathias joins Tata Teleservices as CMO

Mathias will be based in Mumbai and he will report to Anil Sardana, managing director, Tata Teleservices

Ending all speculation, Tata Teleservices has finally officially announced the appointment of Lloyd Mathias as its chief marketing officer. Mathias will be based in Mumbai and will report to Anil Sardana, managing director, Tata Teleservices.

Mathias comes to Tata Teleservices after a three and a half year stint as senior director, sales and distribution, Motorola.

Speaking to afaqs!, Mathias says, “I'm really excited as far as my new role is concerned. For me, it's a logical extension to have shifted from the handset side to the carrier side. People have great regard for the Tata Group and it only helps for one to be associated with such a prestigious and fast-growing entity. I aim to add to all that has been going on in the company as well as chalk out the road ahead.”

Lloyd Mathias joins Tata Teleservices as CMO
It is learnt that while Abdul Khan will remain vice-president and head of marketing, Mathias will play a much broader role, including other portfolios in addition to marketing. However, both will work closely together.

In an official release, Sardana says, “We are excited to have Lloyd join our company, particularly given his strong background in marketing and sales operations. From running one of the country's leading and best known cola brands to guiding and mentoring the business side of operations at the young and aspirational OEM brand, Lloyd has a wealth of experience, which will help us further streamline and add a new thrust to our marketing and brand-building initiatives.”

Mathias will lead the marketing function end to end in terms of defining and executing strategic corporate initiatives for the brand, Tata Indicom. He has rich experience in marketing and will manage various functions, such as product strategy, product management, supply chain, business development, alliances, branding and customer programmes, nationally.

Mathias began his career with Onida in the sales and marketing function in the 1990s. He went on to join United Spirits (then the UB Group). His longest stint was with PepsiCo, again in the sales and marketing function. He was in charge of the non-cola brands of PepsiCo, which included 7Up, Mirinda, Slice, Mountain Dew and the bottled mineral water, Aquafina. He quit PepsiCo as head of flavours.

Mathias was responsible for some of Motorola’s biggest marketing campaigns in India. Some of these successes include MotoRazr, signing film actor Abhishek Bachchan as brand ambassador and strengthening the distribution system for Motorola's GSM and CDMA handsets. MotoYuva, the phone launched specially for the youth, was one of the brands that gained immense appreciation in sales over a period of two years from 2006 to 2008.

In 2006, Mathias was named by the Internationalist magazine as one of the 15 International Marketers of the Year for developing campaigns that had a cross-cultural impact.

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