Ridhima Pandey

Senior marketing leader with 17+ years of experience spanning product marketing, brand building, consumer activation, national trade marketing and retail excellence within EssilorLuxottica. Experienced in translating brand and product strategy into channel growth through trade investment, customer activation, retail execution and cross-functional leadership. Currently combines national trade marketing responsibility with Retail Excellence and Visual Merchandising leadership across premium retail banners, including Sunglass Hut and LensCrafters.

Executive MBA graduate from IIT Bombay and Washington University in St. Louis.

National Trade Marketing Manager at EssilorLuxottica (formerly Essilor India Pvt. Ltd.) (2022-01 – Present)

• Lead national trade marketing strategy aligned with product roadmaps, brand objectives and channel growth priorities.
• Own a ₹20 Cr annual trade marketing investment portfolio, allocating spend across key-optician co-op, key-account business plans, regional/local co-op, POS & visibility, trade engagement and test-and-learn initiatives.
• Link key-account investment to incremental sales opportunities while balancing consumer traffic, retail conversion, channel advocacy and long-term market development.
• Orchestrate cross-functional alignment across Sales, Marketing, Projects and Regional teams to drive scalable national execution.
• Lead brand-led trade activations and product launch programs designed to strengthen sell-out and channel advocacy.
• Oversee new-store layouts, retail design outputs and store refits, translating global design direction into locally relevant execution.
• Collaborate with global design teams and franchise partners to strengthen VM standards, retail consistency and consumer experience.
• Enable franchise partners on VM standards and retail execution requirements.

Activation Manager – Consumer at EssilorLuxottica (formerly Essilor India Pvt. Ltd.) (2016-01 – 2021-12)

• Owned national consumer activation strategy, delivering 100+ large-scale BTL programs annually across malls, corporates and high-footfall environments.
• Drove engagement at scale, reaching ~1M+ consumers annually through structured planning, execution governance and ROI tracking.
• Built scalable activation frameworks and toolkits enabling consistent PAN-India execution with regional teams.

Trade Marketing Manager at EssilorLuxottica (formerly Essilor India Pvt. Ltd.) (2013-01 – 2015-12)

• Led national and international trade programs for 1,000+ Eye Care Practitioners, including global conferences and engagement forums.
• Drove ~20% YoY growth in key accounts through differentiated trade, category and partner-engagement strategies.

Deputy Manager – Product Marketing at EssilorLuxottica (formerly Essilor India Pvt. Ltd.) (2008-12 – 2012-12)

• Owned end-to-end product management and brand building for the Crizal portfolio, including positioning, GTM strategy and sales enablement.
• Led the national launch of Crizal Forte UV, translating product innovation into market adoption and category growth.

Account Manager at Radio Mirchi

Media planning for the education sector; onboarded 50+ clients and generated ₹1 Cr+ revenue.

Inside Sales Representative at Dell

Managed the full sales cycle and grew territory revenue.

Senior Sales Coordinator at Havells

Marketing operations, events and coordination.

Management Trainee at Havells

International business exposure and export packaging for CFLs.

Executive MBA in Dual Degree – IIT Bombay & Washington University in St. Louis (2023-01 – 2024-01)

B.Sc. in Mathematics, Chemistry & Computer Science – St. John's College, Agra (1999-01 – 2003-01)