Alokesh Banerjee
Brand builder, innovator, entrepreneur, and educator
My path started in the lab, not the boardroom — a B.Sc in Chemistry from Presidency University, followed by an M.Tech in Polymers from the University of Calcutta. That technical grounding turned out to be an unusual asset once I moved into business: an MBA in Marketing from IISWBM gave me the language of strategy, and later executive programmes at IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Bangalore sharpened it further.
I spent the next three decades across some of the world's most recognizable consumer and industrial companies — starting in tyres at Dunlop Tire and Bridgestone, moving into building materials at Lafarge, and eventually into consumer beverages at United Spirits and Diageo, where I held roles spanning Head of North East India, National Head of Customer Marketing, and AVP Marketing, alongside a seat on the board of United Mohun Bagan Football Team. Different industries, but the same discipline throughout: understand the market, build the brand, grow the business.
After thirty years inside large organizations, I wanted to build something of my own from the ground up — closer to the customer, and with fewer layers between a decision and its consequences. That's what led me to found Machhli Baba Fries and QP Quintet, two ventures that let me apply everything I learned in the corporate world on a smaller, more personal scale.
I also taught — Strategy and Business Policy at IISWBM and as guest faculty at the University of Calcutta. I don't teach actively anymore, but three decades of decisions, mistakes, and course corrections went into that material, and it's still here for anyone just starting out — you can find it under For My Students.