Consumer preferences shift in a heartbeat these days. Get fighting fit and stay ahead of the curve with Marketing Mixology, your essential toolkit for navigating the dynamic marketscape. Expert brand coach and advertising/marketing veteran Ambi Parameswaran distils the four core skills you need to thrive understanding consumers, brand building, negotiation and selling, and communication offering practical insights and newage wisdom for both seasoned professionals and aspiring marketers.
Master the art of agile marketing, turbocharge your career and make your brand relevant in a world that never stops changing
Author & Brand Coach, Brand Strategist and Founder, Brand- Building.com
Mr L Ramkumar
Independent Director, Angel Investor & Mentor and Former Managing Director, Tube Investments of India Ltd
Dr Sathya Sriram
Independent Advisor
Mr Manoj Padmanaban
Restaurateur • Chef • Mixologist • Culinary Storyteller
Author in conversation with Special Invitees Q&A
Vote of Thanks 7:25 PM
Gp Capt R Vijayakumar (Retd), VSM
Executive Director
Madras Management Association
7:30 PM
End of the Program
Profile
Dr Ambi Parameswaran
Author & Brand Coach, Brand Strategist and Founder, Brand- Building
com
Ambi Parameswaran is a brand coach and founder, brand-building.com, a brand advisory. He is a featured speaker at corporate events, a guest faculty at leading business schools and an award-winning, bestselling author of eleven books. His specially curated workshop on personal branding has been very popular with both leading corporates and industry bodies. Ambi has spent his forty-year career in corporate India working across diverse sectors, such as pharmaceuticals/consumer products (Boots Company), media (UDI Yellow Pages) and advertising (Rediffusion). He spent over twenty-five years with FCB Ulka Advertising, helping transform a struggling ad agency into one of the top five marketing communications groups. Over the last six years, turning independent, he has served as a member director on corporate and advisory boards, as a brand coach to small and large brands and as a mentor to exciting new businesses. He has, through his career and beyond, worked on iconic brands like Tata, Wipro, Zee, TCS, Amul, Tropicana, Pepsico, LIC, Santoor, Sundrop, Abbott, J&J, ITC and so on.
Ambi now reads, writes, teaches and coaches leaders across multiple domains. He is a guest faculty at IIM Calcutta, IIM Ahmedabad, MICA and an Adjunct Professor of Marketing at SPJIMR Mumbai.
Ambi’s columns appear regularly in Business Standard and in several other business publications, including Economic Times and The Hindu BusinessLine He is a Distinguished Alumnus award recipient from both IIT Madras and IIM Calcutta, an AMP Graduate from Harvard Business School, a PhD in Management from Mumbai University and a CFI-certified CEO coach.
Profile
Mr L Ramkumar
Independent Director, Angel Investor & Mentor and Former Managing Director, Tube Investments of India Ltd
Ramkumar, an Alumnus of IIMA, is currently on the Boards of Shanthi Gears Ltd, Igarashi Motors India Ltd, Ambadi Investments Ltd and Wendt India Ltd as an Independent Director. He is a Member of the Board of Governors of IIM Bodhgaya and the Executive Committee of the Chennai Angels (TCA) network. He has been mentoring start-ups at TCA as well as IITM Incubator Cell.
Ramkumar retired as Managing Director of Tube Investments of India Ltd in August 2018 after a successful stint for over 10 years in the position. He was the CFO of TII before moving onto a business role. He has been a part of the Boards and the committees of listed companies over the last 30 plus years His experience has been in heading businesses in sectors such as bicycles, supply chain partner in auto industry, industrial products such as gearboxes and gears, chains and belts, polymer products, telecom cables and optical fiber.
Ramkumar’s contribution has been in the areas of financial turnaround, fundraising, investor relations, market share improvement, export growth, creating a customer centric culture, setting up greenfield projects, and M&A as well Development of leadership pipeline and growth strategies have been his major contributions.
Ramkumar was the President of The Madras Management Association (2018/19). He was awarded the Business Leader of the Year 2018 by Loyola Alumni Association. His interests are Reading Music, and Cricket.
Profile
Dr Sathya Sriram Independent Advisor
Sathya Sriram is an independent advisor specialising in healthcare strategy, preventive care, and leadership development. Most recently, she served as the CEO of Preventive Health at Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited, where she led the organisation’s mission to shift consumer focus from curative to preventive care. During her tenure, she scaled Apollo ProHealth, a flagship preventive healthcare program, leveraging technology to deliver personalized and predictive care pathways.
Sathya spent over a decade at McKinsey & Company, consulting globally for healthcare, public, and social sector organisations. She also led strategy and marketing at The Hindu Group, driving innovation in digital subscriptions, consumer insights, and advertising solutions
In addition to her advisory work, Sathya is a visiting faculty member at IIT Madras, where she teaches courses on leadership and personal growth, preparing students to live to their full potential
Sathya holds a PhD in Cellular and Molecular Medicine from Johns Hopkins University, which informs her insights into consumer behavior and leadership, enabling her to blend scientific insights with practical strategies for impact.
Manoj Padmanaban is a dynamic entrepreneur and creative force in India’s food and beverage industry. A self-taught chef and celebrated mixologist, Manoj is the co-founder of Chennai’s acclaimed Pandan Club
India’s first Peranakan restaurant, launched in collaboration with MasterChef Australia winner Sashi Cheliah. With an eye for detail and a flair for storytelling through food, he curates immersive dining experiences that blend culture, flavor, and innovation.
His journey began with Big Bandha, a pop-up dining brand known for its multisensory experiences, and evolved into Sortd Café, a collaborative space merging gourmet dining with creative business meetups. Through his ventures under United Fork Pvt Ltd and BORN, Manoj has built a strong reputation for crafting unique brand experiences each designed to resonate with emotion and memory.
As a mixologist, he is at the forefront of India’s 0% ABV movement, developing artisanal, non-alcoholic beverages using regional ingredients and modern techniques. His beverage programs are renowned for narrative-driven creations that complement his culinary ethos.
Manoj’s philosophy is simple yet profound: “People remember food not just by taste, but by how it makes them feel.” His ability to craft experiences that connect emotionally and sensorially makes him a sought-after speaker on food innovation, branding, and customer engagement.
