BS People: Sanjay Warke

Toshiba appoints Warke to drive India sales

In an effort to regain its position in the Indian market, Japanese electronics major Toshiba Corporation has appointed Sanjay Warke as its new country head for the digital and services division.

Warke, with his strong sales and marketing background and several years in brand management at PepsiCo, Cadbury India, Asian Paints and Vodafone, will be responsible for developing and implementing Toshiba's India strategy to increase sales.

When working at Vodafone, the eastern region, which he was responsible for, was named the "best circle", and while he was with PepsiCo India, the beverages unit that he was looking after was named the "best market unit".

His leadership skills are surely going to be tested at Toshiba, especially as the Japanese company is struggling to retain its foothold across sectors in India. Toshiba has set ambitious targets for India. Last year, it said it wants to to sell one million personal computers and over two million TV sets in a year. It is betting on its entry-level LCD and LED TVs to drive sales. The aim is to take its market share from nine per cent in 2012 to more than 20 per cent by 2014. The company also wants to increase its revenue five-fold from Rs 1,000 crore in 2012-13 to Rs 5,000 crore in 2013-14.

"Sanjay's vast experience spanning over two decades in India, enables him to understand the varied demographics and complex consumer behaviour," says Kenji Urai, managing director, Toshiba India. Warke loves yoga and meditation and believes that a high spiritual quotient along with emotional quotient is a must to become successful in leadership positions.

The IIM Bangalore graduate succeeds Tengguo Wu, who is moving to Singapore in a different role.