Acer appoints Chandrahas Panigrahi to lead its Consumer Business Group

Acer announced the appointment of a Business Head for its Consumer Business Group in India. Mr. Chandrahas Panigrahi has joined Acer as Senior Director – Consumer Business from 04 May, 2015. As part of his primary responsibilities, Mr. Panigrahi will be heading the Consumer Business Group which includes the consumer product management team, retail management team, e-Commerce, modern trade and distribution teams. Chandrahas would be reporting directly to Mr. Harish Kohli, Managing Director, Acer India.

Acer has been at the forefront of major innovations when it comes to consumer technology. Towards consolidating its leadership position in India, Acer is determined to strengthen its focus on regaining its market share in the consumer products segment.

Commenting on the appointment, Mr. Harish Kohli, Managing Director, Acer India said, “We welcome Chandrahas aboard the dynamic Acer team. Chandrahas’ leadership style and core competencies match Acer’s synergies and we are excited to have someone like him amongst us. India is a very dynamic market with and we are looking forward to leveraging Chandrahas’ rich experiences and deep learning in the consumer domain. Chandrahas would help to bring intensive focus to our consumer business and strengthen our retail roadmap in India as well.”

With the recent reorganization at the Pan Asia Pacific level and Oliver Ahrens leading the way in the region, Acer considers India as a crucial market for growth in this part of the world. Towards this, re-aligning the consumer and enterprise businesses within India was the need of the hour. Mr. Panigrahi who comes with a rich experience from reputed companies in the technology domain spanning components and personal computing will now be looking at bringing momentum and fresh perspectives to the Acer consumer business. Some of the recent initiatives in addressing demand in upcountry markets and enriching the last mile retail experience have shown very encouraging business results for Acer. As a part of his portfolio, Mr. Panigrahi would also be overseeing the setting up of resilient channels and distribution networks in the upcountry regions to tap into the large reservoir of consumers ready to buy computing technology. With the new government in place and thanks to the Digital India programme that promises inclusive growth, Acer expects to leverage the benefits of the expanding internet penetration in semi urban and rural regions of the country.

Mr. Panigrahi has over 15 years of rich industry experience with leading companies in the technology domain spanning components and personal computing, having worked in different profiles ranging from consumer business, retail management, product management, marketing and distribution.