Gunjan Shah

Gunjan Shah is the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Bata India

Limited, responsible for shaping the company’s strategy, operations, and long-term

growth agenda. With over 25 years of leadership experience across consumer

durables, FMCG, telecom, and retail, he brings a rare blend of commercial depth and

operational rigour to one of India’s most iconic consumer brands.

Since assuming the role in June 2021, Gunjan has led a decisive transformation of

Bata India, focused on strengthening its growth engine while modernising the

organisation at scale. His leadership has centred on brand premiumisation,

franchise-led expansion, digital capability building, and IT modernisation-each

anchored in disciplined execution and measurable outcomes. Under his stewardship,

Bata has expanded and refreshed its retail footprint nationwide, improving store

productivity, customer experience, and operational consistency.

A key pillar of his strategy has been portfolio reinvention. Gunjan has strengthened

Bata’s relevance with younger, comfort-driven consumers by scaling high-growth

brands such as Floatz, alongside Power and Hush Puppies, aligning the business

with athleisure and evolving lifestyle trends. In parallel, he has driven factory

consolidation and supply-chain modernisation, investing in domestic manufacturing

and efficiency to create a more agile, demand-responsive, and future-ready

enterprise.

Equally central to Gunjan’s leadership is his focus on people and culture. He has

reinforced accountability, cross-functional collaboration, and frontline ownership,

building an organisation that combines speed with stability and ambition with

execution excellence.

Key Roles held

Prior to joining Bata, Gunjan served as Chief Commercial Officer at Britannia

Industries, where he led sales, marketing, and supply chain functions and played a

pivotal role in strategic transformation and international expansion. Earlier, his tenure

at Asian Paints laid a strong foundation in consumer insight, distribution excellence,

and large-scale operations.

Education Qualifications

Gunjan holds a Bachelor of Technology in Computers from the University of Mumbai

and a Post Graduate Diploma in Management from the Indian Institute of

Management, Kolkata. Known for his calm, structured, and execution-driven

leadership style, he is widely respected for balancing long-term brand vision with

operational discipline and for building high-performing teams that deliver sustainable

growth.