Bates' Dheeraj Sinha to speak at Harvard India Conference

He will lead the panel 'Serving the Indian masses' that will share insights around the challenges and opportunities for consumer companies in India

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Delhi | March 21, 2012

Dheeraj Sinha, Regional Planning Director, bates, has been invited to speak at the annual Harvard India Conference 2012, hosted by the Harvard Business School and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Currently in its ninth edition, the two-day conference will be held at the Harvard campus in Boston, Massachusetts, on March 24-25, 2012, and feature two days of rich content on doing business in India. Sinha will lead the panel 'Serving the Indian masses' that will share insights around the challenges and future opportunities for consumer companies in serving India.

Author of a highly acclaimed consumer marketing book and winner of multiple awards, Sinha is part of the regional leadership team at bates. His book, 'Consumer India - Inside the Indian Mind and Wallet', was published globally by John Wiley & Sons in February 2011 and presents the most definitive and insightful account of changes that have transpired in the Indian consumer market. He has recently authored a chapter, 'Bridging Gaps - Retail in the Emerging Indian Market', in the book 'Shopper Marketing', published by Kogan Page, USA.

Commenting on the invitation, Sinha said, “It's an honour to be associated with the oldest and most celebrated institution of the stature of Harvard. I look forward to exploring various perspectives on the transformation of the Indian consumer with some of the greatest minds globally.”

“There are several stereotypes around the Indian consumer market. For instance, the hype around the bottom of the pyramid totally overlooks the desire of this segment to be 'top in status'. The truth is that the bottom of the pyramid market is not merely about affordability, the emerging class also wants to live the same glossy life and be a part of the progress discourse as the rest of India does. Similarly, despite all the talk about India as a mass market, the premium segment in India is set for a boom, if you look at the performance of luxury cars or premium residential projects today, they defy all signs of slowdown. This panel will be about such less-discussed and debated aspects of the Indian consumer market. We will try and build what I call the un-slumdog view of India”, Sinha remarked.

The conference typically hosts about 800 attendees from around the world and has a strong legacy of creating a platform to allow policymakers, business leaders and those involved in academia to meaningfully discuss how India can fulfil her global potential. In the past, HBS has hosted Amartya Sen, P Chidambaram, Navin Jindal, Karan Johar, Ravi Venkatesan among many other influential speakers.

Info@BestMediaInfo.com

Info@BestMediaInfo.com