Nykaa Board Appoints Santosh Desai as Independent Director

FSN E-Commerce Ventures (Nykaa) has announced the appointment of Santosh Desai as an independent director on its Board, effective July 15, 2024. Desai’s term will span three years, pending shareholder approval.

Santosh Desai brings a wealth of experience to Nykaa, having served as the CEO of Future Brands for nearly 17 years. His extensive career in advertising includes a tenure as president of McCann, where he was instrumental in strategically building key brands for various local and multinational organizations.

Desai’s current board engagements include Think9 Consumer Technologies, Dainik Jagran Group, and Breakthrough. Additionally, he is a member of the Governing Councils of Mudra Institute of Communication, Ahmedabad, and Praxis Business School, Kolkata. His past board roles include positions at ING Vysya Bank and OXFAM India.

Falguni Nayar, executive chairperson, founder, and CEO of Nykaa, expressed her enthusiasm for Desai’s appointment, stating, “Santosh’s experience in understanding the interwoven relationship between culture and brands has helped build several iconic brands. Nykaa’s unrivaled customer centricity and focus on innovation has enabled us to garner tremendous consumer love and trust. We are confident that Santosh’s strategic guidance will help steer our vision to propel Nykaa’s brand equity and bolster our existing bouquet of brands for long-term global success.”

Desai also commented on his new role, saying, “I am excited to join Nykaa as an independent director. Nykaa has driven a transformative change in the beauty and lifestyle landscape in India with its customer-centric approach to retail. I look forward to contributing to the continued success and growth of this dynamic organisation, leveraging my experience in brand strategy and advertising to help shape its highly promising future.”

Nykaa’s current board of directors consists of 10 members, who collectively offer expertise in business strategy, technology, entrepreneurship, finance, governance and regulation, human capital management, and CSR. The group of independent directors includes Milind Sarwate, Anita Ramachandran, Seshashayee Sridhara, and Pradeep Prameshwaram. The tenure of Nykaa’s independent directors adheres to regulatory frameworks, with reappointments in accordance with those guidelines.