Coca-Cola elevates Asha Sekhar to VP and chief digital officer, India and SWA

Previously, Sekhar held the designation of director - media, Coca-Cola India and South West Asia.

Coca-Cola India, today announced the appointment of Asha Sekhar as its vice president and chief digital officer, India and South West Asia. In this newly created leadership role, which focuses on the company’s journey towards digital transformation, Sekhar will build foundations necessary for business growth, drive opportunities and strengthen Coca-Cola India’s digital ecosystem. In addition to her new responsibilities, Asha will continue to lead the media and allied marketing functions.

Asha Sekhar

Announcing the elevation, T. Krishnakumar, president, Coca-Cola India and South West Asia, says in a press release, "Digitalisation is disrupting all industries and redefining the ways companies connect, engage ,communicate and do business. Asha’s expertise in delivering consumer-focused digital experience will help in our journey towards becoming more relevant and future ready.”

“This new addition to the leadership team of Coca-Cola in India is designed to address developing business needs and reinforces our commitment towards investing in diversity and talent development”, he added.

Sekhar, who will report to Krishnakumar, is a Coca-Cola veteran and has spent over 13 years with the company. In her previous role, as director - media, Coca-Cola India and South West Asia, she was pivotal in setting up a separate media function to efficiently leverage marketing efforts in an increasingly complex media landscape.

As a core part of the marketing function, Sekhar has been a significant change agent for driving media strategy. Some of her many significant achievements include, the inception and later scale-up of Samvaad, an in-house digital experience center for Coca-Cola in India, that delivers consumer centricity for Coca-Cola’s brands, company and customers. She has also delivered some ‘industry-first’ pioneering projects and driven strategic media partnerships.

Prior to this, she worked for over a decade with WPP, Universal McCann, Madison and Mudra, managing media businesses for leading brands. She has developed multi-level engagement with all key segments of the dynamic media landscape ranging from technology platforms to content distributors.