Mr. Ashish Dikshit, 53, is currently the Managing Director of Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail Limited (ABFRL), India’s largest pure play fashion company. Ashish has worked in diverse roles across industries and functions over his career spanning more than 30 years.
Ashish started his career at Asian Paints and spent initial years in Sales & Distribution across the country before moving to Madura Garments, where he worked across multiple functions ranging from Sales, Brand Management, Supply Chain and Sourcing.
He then moved to the corporate office of Aditya Birla Group where he served as the Principal Executive Assistant to the Chairman of the Group. In this assignment, Ashish built strong knowledge across Group’s various businesses in multiple industry sectors ranging from metals, cement, financial services, telecom, textile and several others, both in India & overseas, assisting Chairman in strategic oversight over these businesses and participating in some of the largest M&A transactions of the Group.
Ashish was appointed President of Lifestyle Brands of Group’s apparel business in 2007 and went on to become the CEO of its branded division, Madura Fashion & Lifestyle in 2012. He took over as the Managing Director of ABFRL in Feb 2018 and has led company’s rapid transformation through diversification into new business segments, category extensions & market segments to build it into the most comprehensive branded fashion company in the country. Under his leadership, the company has forged partnerships with leading International brands and has forayed into Indian ethnic wear market through joint ventures with some of the most iconic Indian designers to build an unrivalled portfolio of fashion brands across price points, consumer segments and usage occasions.
Ashish is an Electrical & Electronics Engineer from IIT - Madras and holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from IIM – Bangalore. He is also an alumnus of Harvard Business School through its Advanced Management Program.
Ashish is the recipient of the Distinguished Alumnus Award from IIT Madras. He was also awarded the Outstanding Leader Award by the Chairman of the Aditya Birla Group.
Mr. Arun Kumar Sinha, IAS (MN: 1999) has joined as the Managing Director of Footwear Design & Development Institute with effect from 11th July 2017.
Prior to joining FDDI, Mr. Sinha served as OSD (ADMIN) in India Trade Promotion Organization (ITPO).
He has not only administrative experience of more than 18 years but also academically very enriched. He is a Chemical Engg. from IIT, Kharagpur and Masters in Public Policy & Management from London School of Economics & Political Science.
Col. Pankaj Kumar Sinha has joined the Footwear Design & Development Institute (FDDI) as ‘Secretary’ from 06th April 2023.
An alumnus of Sainik School Tilaiya, and a graduate from Hansraj College, University of Delhi, Col. Sinha completed his training from the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun and got Commissioned in Electronic and Mechanical Engineer Corps in 1997.
His professional qualification is B. Tech., M. Tech. and have done Diploma in HR and PGDM (FM) from NIFM (Faridabad).
He is an associate member of the Institution of Engineers (India) and also a Chartered Engineer (India).
Col. Sinha has served the Indian Army in various capacities and tenanted appointments across the country. As GM (Works) at base Workshop, was instrumental in planning and development of Infra of the production unit, finances, machine, manpower, overhaul receipt of dispatch of equipments.
He has also performed as ‘Instructor’ at Technical Staff Course where officers of the Indian Army, Air Force and Navy were imparted Middle level training to equip them for their career progression and step into higher management. Owing to his significant contribution, Col. Sinha was awarded commendation by “Chief of Integrated Staff Committee’ (CISC) of Integrated Defense Staff under the Ministry of Defense.
He has been an avid sportsman and plays Tennis, Football, Squash, Badminton and Golf. Prior to joining FDDI, Col. Sinha was Joint Director (Asset and Account Management) at Regional Center, ECHS, Patna.
Having wide exposure in the field of HR, Finance and Administration, Col. Sinha has broader integrated vision to make FDDI a vibrant and best hub of ‘Global Skill Learning Centre’ in the field of Footwear, Leather, Retail, Fashion & Management.
His wife, Mrs. Babita Sinha is a Registered Counsellor of National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) and working as Academic Coordinator in school.
Ms. Pragya Singh, IRS has joined the Footwear Design & Development Institute (FDDI), Chandigarh (Banur) campus as ‘Executive Director’ from 16th March 2023.
She is an officer of the 2010 batch of IRS (IT) who has served in various capacities during her tenure. After completing her training at NADT - Nagpur, she has been posted in and around Chandigarh for the last 10 years.
During this time, she has gained extensive experience in different profiles like Income Tax Assessment, General Administration, Vigilance, TDS and in Exemptions vertical of the Income Tax Department.
Ms. Pragya Singh having a Master's degree in Geography and Masters in Taxation and Business Law has grand visions and pragmatic ideas about making FDDI, as one of the best international skill learning centre in the field of Footwear, Leather, Fashion & Retail Management.
Mr. Sunil Kumar, 48, has joined the Footwear Design & Development Institute (FDDI), Kolkata campus as ‘Executive Director’ from 2nd June 2023.
Prior to joining FDDI, he was the Chief Administrative Officer of National Institute of Design (NID), Haryana, Kurukshetra from January 2020 to May 2023.
Mr. Sunil has worked in diverse roles across central government organisations over his career.
He started his career as a combatant soldier in the Indian Air Force. He served in the IAF at Kanpur, Chandigarh, Laddak and Coimbatore from 1992 to 2007.
Later, he joined the National Institute for Empowerment of Persons with Multiple Disabilities (NIEPMD) under the Government of India at Chennai from 2007 till 2013. He was Assistant Director and then Deputy Director (Admin) in the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) under the Government of India from 2013 till 2020.
He aspires to do his bit in making the FDDI a widely admired institute in the field of Footwear, Leather, Fashion & Retail Management.
Dr. Narasimhugari Tej Lohit Reddy, IAS has joined the Footwear Design & Development Institute (FDDI), Hyderabad campus as ‘Executive Director’ from 23rd August 2023.
Dr. Narasimhugari TL Reddy is a medical doctor by qualification with a MBBS degree from the prestigious Osmania Medical College, Hyderabad.
He belongs to the 2013 batch of Indian Administrative Service of Kerala Cadre.
He has served for 10 years in various positions in Government of Kerala before joining FDDI.
After completing training as Assistant Collector in Kottayam district of Kerala, he worked as Sub Collector in Idukki District, Secretary to Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation, Director Food and Civil Supplies Department, Registrar of Cooperatives, District Collector Pathanamthitta and District Collector Kozhikode.
He is excited to join FDDI and desires to take it to greater heights with support of faculty, staff and its bright students.
