ASHWIN NAIR
+971-**-******* **************@*****.***
12+ years of experience in setting up and leading strategic research and intelligence, competitive intelligence, social media listening & intelligence, internal consulting, brand research & reputation, customer experience & insights, corporate reputation and product marketing.
10 years of experience leading market insights in IBM (USA and India).
Master’s degree of Business Administration in Marketing.
Creative and innovative team player with strong interpersonal skills.
Solid experience in leveraging Agile and Design Thinking concepts.
WORK EXPERIENCE
STRATEGIC RESEARCH & INTELLIGENCE MANAGER at Digital14, UAE from May 2019 to Present
Lead the development and implementation of the vision, strategic direction and roadmap for Strategic Intelligence within the company
Create and deliver strategic and tactical level insight into the business that enhances sustainable and profitable growth
Strengthen the competitive position of Sales and Business Development by providing integrated market intelligence that leads to actionable insights in uncovering growth opportunities
Undertake market analysis that provides the business with geographic, sector outlooks and market share analysis that underpin strategic planning and growth plans to help stakeholders make sound decisions based on solid analysis of internal and external data
Analyze and monitor competitor dynamics, trends and determine implications to be presented to senior management
Lead and develop the strategic understanding of megatrends and report its impact and opportunities to senior leadership
Work collaboratively with key stakeholders including Business Units, Product Development and Marketing to inject insights in support of the corporate strategy and growth programs
Develop and manage key partnerships with external providers for the provision of market research, data and services
WORLDWIDE MARKETING MANAGER at IBM, India from Sep 2018 to May 2019
Lead a team of talented product and performance marketers and apply expertise on the market, buyers, competitors to develop end-to-end marketing strategies and value propositions to help achieve segment revenue targets.
Create differentiated point-of-view, strategic messaging and leadership proof points working in tandem with Offering Managers and sales to advance IBM’s market leadership and business results
Inspire target audience and drive awareness (blogs, videos), support demand generation (webinars) and drive advocacy (client references)
SENIOR ADVISOR, MARKET INSIGHTS at IBM Corporate Headquarters, USA from Jul 2015 to Aug 2018
Develop competitive and market assessments to understand market dynamics and trends, and disseminate key findings to executive leaders and other stakeholders across the company
Manage the activity relative to the preliminary market assessments to determine market size, market potential and likely market acceptance for new business opportunities
Gather competitive intelligence across the industry; evaluate competitor positions and competitive pressures in our markets to drive solutions and strategies
Identify and track the voice of our customer through client surveys and research
Provide market-supported recommendations for the segments to expand brand awareness and support lead generation
MANAGER, SOCIAL MEDIA RESEARCH & INSIGHTS at IBM India from Aug 2011 to Jul 2015
Set up and led the Social Insights Team (20+ members) and drove insights around market development, voice of the customer, buyer insights, industry insights, influencer identification, brand and reputation management, issues & crisis management, campaign & events management etc.
Initiated and managed analytical assets that derive meaning out of unstructured data generating user-centric data-driven insights around brand perception, influencers, buyers, emotion, sentiment, products, offerings, branding architecture, emerging topics etc.
Thought leadership on advancing the practice of social intelligence by creating new methods and applications as well as identifying areas for replacing / complementing social media intelligence to traditional research
TEAM LEAD, MARKET INSIGHTS at IBM India from Jun 2009 to Jul 2011
Led market and competitive intelligence process to include capturing, assessing and disseminating intelligence and insights across the organization.
Prepared in depth analysis of competitors’ strategies, strengths and weaknesses, tactics, trends, investments, and future activities for IBM’s annual business planning cycle.
Continuously assessed impact of competitive activities and market dynamics on company strategies and developed recommendations to address challenges and drive growth.
Identified and analyzed new business opportunities in existing, adjacent or new markets and businesses.
EDUCATION
Master of Business Administration from University of Kerala, India
Post Graduate Diploma in Digital Business from Emeritus Institute of Management (in collaboration with MIT Management Executive Education and Columbia Business School)