Harshad Hardikar joins OgilvyOne as senior VP, e-commerce and CRM practice

Hardikar was head of online sales (e-commerce) at Rediff.com. At OgilvyOne, he will be responsible for driving the e-commerce and CRM practice nationally.

Harshad Hardikar has joined OgilvyOne India as senior vice president, e-commerce and customer relationship management practice. Earlier, he was head, online sales (e-commerce) at Rediff.com. This is his third stint at OgilvyOne.

Hardikar returns to Ogilvy after one year at Rediff.com. At Rediff.com, he was responsible for Rediffshopping. Prior to that, he was with OgilvyOne for four years as head, Mumbai. He was also the account director at OgilvyOne from 2003 to 2005.

Commenting on his new role, Hardikar says, "I am glad to be back at OgilvyOne. We are witnessing unprecedented growth for e-commerce and ECRM in India. Our clients are actively looking for solutions to sell online as a cost efficient revenue stream. My mandate at OgilvyOne is to lead this practice nationally and manage our clients' e-commerce/CRM needs end to end."

A post graduate from MET IMS Mumbai, Hardikar has more than 15 years' experience in CRM/loyalty garnered during his work at various companies such as Select Direct, iContract, ICICI Bank and OgilvyOne. He launched India's first coalition loyalty programme called iMint (now Payback).

Kunal Jeswani, president, OgilvyOne India, says, "The best service for our clients is to bring in talent that can make a difference to their business. Harshad represents just that, the best available talent in CRM and e-commerce. He is someone who understands the intricacies of digital relationship marketing and can use it to demonstrate a real impact on our clients' businesses."