Indiatimes’ Anurag Gupta joins Connecturf as EV-P

Anurag Gupta, who, till recently, was business head at Indiatimes, has joined as EV-P and director at Connecturf and as CEO at Solutionturf. Connecturf is the parent company of digital marketing services companies like Mediaturf, Solutionturf and Knowledgeturf.

Gupta’s immediate task at Connecturf would be to drive the operations of the company for the Northern region, which he is currently heading. In the long term, he will partner V Ramani, CEO, Connecturf, in an engagement where Gupta will lead and Ramani will support the technology solutions business. He will report to Ramani.

Gupta’s task will be to take the business on the growth path in various sectors like retail and small and medium enterprises, which are nimble and quick-growth sectors and not just provide technology solutions. He will also take the company to the next level and create value for it. He aims to support the group in creating value for the board, investors, consumers and advertisers and other stakeholders.

Ramani comments, “Anurag was chosen for the designation around six months ago. The board was not necessarily looking for another senior person, but someone who would jointly craft a new understanding of the (online) space in effectively reaching out to the potential customer.”

A graduate from the IIM, Ahmedabad, Gupta has 17 years of experience, ranging from FMCG and paints to the media. In between, he also tried his hand at stock-broking and setting up his family business. Having spent the last four years as business head at Indiatimes, he has to his credit the setting up and heading of the business subscription unit. He began his career with Asian Paints in 1989. Since then, he has been associated with FMCG distribution and his family business between 1992 and 1995. Then, he dabbled in a retail stock-broking business, which he set up in Delhi and ran till 1999. Heading an office automation company on the marketing side was his niche till 2000. After that, for the next two years, he headed marketing and sales at Yellow Pages, followed by a four-year stint at Indiatimes.

After years of experience in a wide range of industries, Gupta realised that the next industry to try was the ever-booming and ever-promising online industry.

Describing the online industry, he says, “Today, the online industry is the most action-oriented industry and, as a result of Internet advertising, has a huge potential to bridge the gap between marketers and potential consumers, who are largely of an online nature. My shift is essentially part of my quest to explore the wide-ranging opportunities offered by this industry.” He says he was also looking at a larger player in an industry where the growth rate is more than 100 per cent.

His slew of memorable career experiences relates to the start-ups he was involved in, particularly at Indiatimes.

For the record, Connecturf is the parent company of one of India’s most successful families of digital marketing companies.

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