CHUMBAK APPOINTS VASANT NANGIA AS CEO

Bangalore: Design-led lifestyle brand, Chumbak Design Private Limited has appointed Vasant Nangia as Chief Executive Officer. Founder Vivek Prabhakar, will continue as head of Marketing and Digital, and co-Founder Shubhra Chaddha will continue to head Product and Design.

Vasant was Senior Vice-President, Asia Pacific of the Fossil Group, managing some of the most diverse and complex markets in the world, including Japan, Korea, Australia and South East Asia based out of Hong Kong. Vasant was instrumental in turning around the business of the Group in the region, with a focus on building its e-commerce, omni-channel and analytics capabilities. Previously, Vasant led Fossil India, building it from scratch to one of the Group’s largest global subsidiaries. 

Vivek Prabhakar, co-founder of Chumbak said, “As we complete a rewarding ten-year journey with Chumbak, we’re looking forward to taking the next steps.  I have worked closely with Vasant through the duration of my career and he has been deeply involved with Chumbak for many years. I’m confident that his success in a number of leadership roles, experience in building consumer lifestyle brands and his enthusiasm for business transformation will be of great benefit to Chumbak as the company moves towards being the most loved retail brand in India and internationally.” 

A graduate in Economics from St Stephens College Delhi, Vasant earned his MBA from IIM Calcutta. As part of the core team that built market-leading Titan & Tanishq brands in the country, he is famously credited with the introduction of the Karat-meter - a device for quick measurement of the purity of gold- that marked a turning point for both Tanishq and the jewelry industry in India. 

Ranjit Shah, Managing Partner, Gaja Capital said, “Chumbak is at an opportune juncture as an exciting youth brand with a strong design philosophy. As it scales further, it will benefit immensely from Vasant’s extensive experience with leading consumer brands in India and abroad. We are delighted to have him onboard and look forward to a long and successful association.” 

“The board believes Vasant is the ideal CEO to lead Chumbak’s next chapter of growth and success,” said Rajat Agarwal, Director, Matrix Partners.  “Going from a single store, single category business 5 years ago to over 75 stores across multiple categories today, Chumbak is at an inflection point and ready to take the next leap. Vasant brings with him not only decades of experience in building and scaling several aspirational consumer brands but also deep knowledge about Chumbak having been their first investor and Board member. We welcome Vasant in this new operating role and look forward to working with him to build a truly distinctive company.”

Commenting on his new role, Vasant said, “I am excited to be joining Chumbak. In my journey with the company, I have developed a deep appreciation for what makes Chumbak special. I believe it has tremendous potential to capitalize on its core strengths of great design, quality product and brand positioning while continuing to innovate and grow.”