Chief Marketing Officer (succession planning for Founder and CEO)
A CMO appointed with succession to the founder in mind.
eShakti · Paragon Partners portfolio
eShaktiParagon Partners portfolio
eShakti is an e-commerce player focused on a niche segment within the United States market. Paragon Partners were the investors in the company at the time of the mandate.
- Role
- Chief Marketing Officer (succession planning for Founder and CEO)
- Sector
- eCommerce, Paragon Partners portfolio
- Location
- India
- Outcome
- Successfully placed and led the growth of revenue and valuation
Mandates led by Avneesh Raghuvanshi over the course of his career at previous firms, before Antik Consultants was established in August 2026.
The situation
- Situation that led to the mandate
- We were introduced to the Founder and CEO by the investors, as it was considered important to bring on board a marketing and brand specialist who could also be groomed to take over from the founder in the future.
- Market
- Indian talent pool residing in India or overseas, with a strong background in brand building and management.
- Timing
- Our commitment was to deliver the shortlisted candidates within 4 weeks.
Client need
It was important that the person should be a marketing specialist with an extremely strong background in having built and managed brands, a strong understanding of customer service, and an entrepreneurial mindset.
It was also important that the person should have the ability to transition from a large global organisation into a small business with the budgetary constraints faced by a start-up.
The challenge
The founder was clear that he wanted someone with an engineering background from IIT, a management degree from IIM, and a consistent, long-term track record with a leading global brand. Our challenge was to convince senior talent to join a start-up.
The appointment
Appointee
Mr Sudeep Kashyap
- VP, Head of Revenue, JIO
- ex-CMO, The Kraft Heinz Co.
- ex-VP, Head Marketing, Metro Cash & Carry
Impact since the appointment
Sudeep was instrumental in putting together the foundations for building a globally recognised brand — including the systems and processes as well as the team — before he was hired by JIO.
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