Retail Asia Forum - Jakarta - May 16, 2024

Rakesh leads the Consumer Markets practice in South East Asia in PwC’s Strategy& practice, based in Kuala Lumpur –and leads the (x-sector) Strategy& team in Malaysia and Vietnam. He brings 15+ years experience serving Corporate, PE and Trading House clients in the Retail, Consumer and Leisure sectors on Strategy (revenue management, route-to-market, channel and pricing optimization);M&A/Deals (portfolio strategy, diligence, post-deal value creation, integration)and Transformation (sustainability and organizational structure) topics –typically working with executives on the Board and across the C-suite (in Finance, Strategy, Commercial).He serves large multinational accounts (examples: F&B, Tobacco, Cosmetics)on Strategy topics and in account leadership –building & deepening C-level relationships; marshalling firm engagement on local priorities; sharing global best practices and driving coordination and capability exchange with international teams. He also serves as the Asia-Pacific account leader (across all lines of service) for two of PwC’s largest global priority accounts in the Consumer Products sector.Earlier, in Japan and the U.S., he served marquee global clients on Strategy and Transformation initiatives. He was part of the founding team of PwC’s U.S. Deals Strategy practice, where he advised PEs and Trading Houses on portfolio strategy, M&A diligence and execution and also, on rapid post-deal value creation. Prior to joining PwC, Rakesh worked across multiple sectors –from investment banking and capital markets (J.P. Morgan, Deutsche Bank), to non-profit (Teach For India) and international development (Asian Development Bank). Rakesh holds an MBA degree (Strategy, Finance) from the Kellogg School of Management, and a BS degree (Actuarial Science, Finance) from New York University. He was named a Global Shaper by the World Economic Forum in 2013.

Relevant project leadership:

• Advised the board of a U.S. beverage alcohol player on extending into a new spirits category –defined target business profile, built unconstrained views on attractive pockets, evaluated capability strengths and gaps, prioritized ways-to-play and presented a phased roadmap to launch and grow, including investment and M&A plans (growth strategy)
• Led the diligence and subsequent integration of a major U.S. acquisition for a global tobacco player –and later advised on strategy and M&A efforts for the development of their reduced risk portfolio, serving the C-suite (growth strategy)
• Supported an FMCG leader in Japan with developing an effective direct-to-consumer strategy –reviewing consumer purchase behaviors, product and platform requirements and anticipated business impact (digital, e-commerce)
• Assisted a European footwear retailer with refreshing their online retail strategy across priority markets, through offline-to-online transitions using couponing and customer data to develop a e-commerce proposition (digital, e-commerce)
• Advised a distressed specialty retailer on a turnaround strategy –evaluated market demand, brand positioning and competitor strategies to refresh pricing architecture and promotion spend (turnaround, distressed situations)
• Developed a transformation roadmap for a PE-owned casino chain –assessed gamer behaviors, location performance, revenue mix and cost models to advise on an end-to-end organizational realignment to streamline the cost structure and reinvest in capabilities that support further prospects for profitable growth (transformation, organization)