Sunil Bharti Mittal-led Bharti Enterprises has appointed Raj Jain as the Chief Executive Officer of Bharti Retail.
Jain, was the MD and CEO of Walmart India, before he left the company in June 2013 amidst several allegations and investigations. Subsequently, he had joined the Bharti Group as an adviser.
Bharti Retail also named Pankaj Madan as its Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Madan previously worked as CFO of the Bharti-Walmart wholesale joint venture.
Bharti Group and Walmart had parted ways after six years of partnership. While Walmart took over the cash and carry vertical Best Price Modern Wholesale stores, Bharti will operate and run the front-end retail Easy Day.
Bharti Retail currently operates 212 retail stores in India.
Commenting on the appointments, Rajan Bharti Mittal, Vice Chairman, Bharti Enterprises said, “Bharti is committed to building a world-class retail venture and we are delighted to have Raj and Pankaj on board. I am confident that their rich experience and insights into the retail business will add immense value to company’s growth plans.”
Jain has vast experience across retail, consumer durables and FMCG sectors. He was the Asia Pacific Region Head, Marketing and Supply Chain at Whirlpool Corporation in Shanghai and had also served as Managing Director & CEO of Whirlpool of India Ltd.
He began his career with Unilever, where he held key managerial positions in Sales, Marketing and Supply Chain in India the U.K. Raj holds an Engineering Degree from Delhi University and did his Executive MBA degree from the Kellogg School of Business.