Board Member Category: Track - Identity Addressability

Santosh co-founded Sokrati, (now known as Merkle Sokrati and part of Dentsu Network) in 2009 alongside former Amazon colleagues, Anubhav Sonthalia and Ashish Mehta.

As of today, Santosh assumes the role of Chief Growth Officer, Merkle India, dedicated to empowering clients expand their digital presence and achieve business growth through cutting-edge Martech capabilities, innovations and platforms. Under his leadership, the teams are building solutions that leverage the intersection of marketing strategy, big data, analytics, and marketing technology to enable brands to deliver world-class customer engagements that result in long-lasting, profitable relationships.

With a rich history in various technology-oriented roles, Santosh has provided strategic consulting for major projects involving esteemed brands such as Maruti, Microsoft, and GoDaddy, among others.

As a true technocrat, Santosh has been at the forefront of transforming a conventional agency into a technology-driven marketing consultancy and implementation firm. Within the Merkle ecosystem, he plays an instrumental role in introducing the latest marketing technologies to India. His expertise encompasses a wide range of advancements, including Customer Data Platforms, Data Management Platforms (such as Adobe Experience Cloud, Salesforce DMP, and Oracle Marketing Cloud), Customer Relationship Management & Loyalty Solutions, and the Merkle Innovation Cloud.

His invaluable expertise served as a foundation for his former role as Chief Technology Officer at Sokrati, where the tech team pioneered numerous proprietary algorithms that significantly enhanced ad spends optimization and reporting communication for clients.

Santosh earned his Master of Science in Information Networking from Carnegie Mellon University and is recognized for his innovative and forward-thinking approach in the industry.

Ruchira leads the Marketing function at Diageo India and is part of its Executive Committee. As Chief Marketing Officer, Ruchira oversees Marketing and Innovation for our wide range of award-winning alcohol and beverage portfolio.

Ruchira is an experienced marketer who has played a pivotal role in building leading consumer brands over the last 25 years. Prior to joining Diageo, she was with PepsiCo India as Senior Director, Marketing, where she was instrumental in building some of their biggest brands, including Kurkureand Mountain Dew. Ruchira led several award-winning consumer campaigns across the Foods and Beverages portfolio of PepsiCo brands, including the very popular Pepsi IPL campaign.

Ruchira has been associated with brands such as Nokia devices and Royal DSM. Under her astute leadership as CMO India & APAC, at Nokia, she helped build a complete portfolio unique to India with innovative marketing strategies. She created an F&B nutrition start-up (MANDI) at Royal DSM to combat malnutrition.

Ruchira started her career with Unilever India as a management trainee and subsequently moved to roles such as Sales & Brand Activation, Brand Strategy, and Innovation.

Ruchira is passionate about investing in talent; she is a co-founder at Ashoka University, supports Vedica Women’s Alliance as a mentor, and was a member of the CII National Committee on Women Empowerment & Indian Women Network (IWN), leveraging her own experiences to help the next generation of Indian women professionals and entrepreneurs.

Ruchira holds an honours degree from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai and is an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

Armed with an experience of 26 years, Jose has excelled in accelerating growth and building revenues for brands across industries. With expertise in delivering tech-led digital transformation, Jose has attained the skillsets to drive disruptive media solutions, envisioned through a people-centric approach. Over the years, he has delivered exponential value through senior management roles in a Digital First/Tech-at-the-core businesses globally and across the APAC region. Prior to joining dentsu X, Jose held the position of Managing Director at the Publicis Groupe for over five years. His leadership experience also extends across global technology giants such as Adobe, to name a few.

Alban Villani is currently Regional CEO, Europe and Asia for Epsilon, an entity of Publicis Groupe. In this role, he empowers brands, retailers, agencies and partners to grow through digital transformation, identity-resolution leading-edge technology, loyalty programs and retail media solutions.

Villani has 20 years of experience, working in AdTech and Martech leadership roles across Asia and Europe. As a Global Senior Vice-President for Appier, he was helping companies improve their commercial processes and marketing decisions through AI and led its commercial growth until its listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2021. Prior to this role, he had founded a digital marketing and brand consultancy agency and served as Regional Managing Director for APAC at Criteo, where the region enjoyed significant growth under his leadership.

Ben leads the global performance and brand revenue activation teams for Digital Turbine. An AdTech and Mobile veteran with over 15 years of experience, Ben breathes programmatic and performance and is skilled in mobile advertising, digital strategy, advertising operations and supply mediation. He has a deep understanding of the players, the pipes, and the technology that make the mobile app ecosystem work.

Narin Shetty, a distinguished Business Leader and Digital Strategist, has left an indelible mark on the business landscape throughout his remarkable decade-long career. As the driving force behind Valueleaf Services, he steers growth with a sharp focus on both financial and operational excellence. Widely acknowledged for his action-oriented leadership, Narin has successfully navigated leading brands across competitive sectors including BFSI, Healthcare, Gaming, Media & Advertising, Automobiles, FMCG, Fashion, and E-Commerce. With a foundation in Retail Financial Services, his professional journey has forged a leadership style grounded in a profound understanding of the finance sector. Particularly noteworthy is his accomplishment in crafting a sophisticated digital marketing ecosystem, playing a pivotal role in driving business acquisition and revenue growth. Narin’s steadfast commitment to staying ahead in the ever-evolving digital landscape underscores his strategic foresight.