My contribution to a board
I would help directors examine the relationship between a company's public promise and the arrangements behind it. An acquired name may carry recognition that a replacement design overlooks. An artist's participation needs an accurate description of what was agreed. Campaign figures need to retain the meaning of the things they count before becoming a case for investment. My experience includes changing a recommendation when those distinctions were missing from my own team's work. I would bring that willingness to examine assumptions rather than a claim to have perfected brand management. The board contribution would be to clarify the choice, evidence and remaining obligations, while management and the appropriate professional owners retain implementation and specialist decisions. I would work best beside directors who can connect that perspective with finance, law and operations, so the business can pursue a credible opportunity rather than treating caution as the only possible conclusion.
My first year on a board
I would begin by understanding how the company earns customer recognition and which external relationships contribute to its public identity. Induction should include conversations with commercial, operations, finance and professional advisers, arranged through the chair and management. I would examine one substantial brand or marketing proposal from its intended purpose through its evidence and approval, looking for where meaning changes between teams. I would also learn the board's collective procedures rather than assume that presenting an executive paper prepares me to serve on the other side of the table. My early contribution should be a few well-grounded questions about material decisions, not a request to redesign every campaign. By the first annual review, I would seek the chair's feedback on whether my questions improved the clarity of choices and respected management's authority, and where further governance learning or sector understanding was needed.
Conflicts and their management
Zelquari's agencies, artists, specialist suppliers and commercial partners may also work with a prospective company. Those links need disclosure before I receive confidential plans, with employer consent and suitable advice about whether the proposed role can be performed properly. I would not use private campaign results, acquisition research, artist terms or client material as evidence I was free to share. Having no personal shareholding does not remove obligations arising from employment or relationships. A proposed recusal arrangement must be workable across the actual board agenda, rather than leaving me unable to contribute to its central decisions. The twenty-two-day allowance also needs testing against preparation, travel and unexpected events in both roles. If the opportunity required commitments I could not meet or relationships I could not manage appropriately, I would decline rather than rely on the attraction of the company's creative work.
My independence statement
Continuing employment and relationships with agencies, artists, suppliers and commercial partners need review for the proposed company. No personal holding does not establish independence. Applicable Companies Act conditions, SEBI LODR where relevant, committee eligibility and directorship limits must be assessed with appropriate professional advice before appointment.
Judgement in practice
01Keeping an open art prize distinct from customer acquisition
Our 2024 adult art prize began with a proposed purchase condition. I recommended removing it because the programme's stated purpose was to invite creative work, and buying materials from us was not evidence of that work's quality. The ₹64 lakh programme included ₹18 lakh in prizes. Of 412 entries, thirty-three were ineligible under the stated rules and 379 were reviewed. Twelve finalists included seven customers and five non-customers, using voluntarily provided status kept outside judging. I would ask directors whether the programme's criteria matched its purpose and whether the commercial report later changed that purpose to claim a sales result. Practical blinding was not a claim of perfect anonymity or a universal fairness certification. The outcome was an open programme with explicit boundaries, not a quantified acquisition return. Management and the appointed judges retained their respective responsibilities, with appropriate professional arrangements for the actual programme.
02Holding additional campaign spending while repairing the order account
Three platform reports summed to 18,400 attributed orders in a period containing 12,000 distinct online orders. I held a proposed ₹1.6 crore incremental campaign investment and funded a ₹29 lakh review. It identified 9,600 distinct orders with one or more attribution records and 2,400 without one in the reviewed set. The repair stopped us treating overlapping platform claims as separate business transactions. It did not establish how many purchases marketing caused. As a director, I would ask what the next expenditure is expected to change, how the chosen evidence will answer that question and what remains uncertain. The unapproved proposal was not money saved, and the reconciled count was not an experimental return. A board needs that distinction to judge a new investment without either accepting a misleading success claim or incorrectly declaring the whole existing programme worthless.
Committee contribution
Chair and member readiness| Capacity | Committees |
|---|
| Ready to join | Brand or customer committee after induction and assessment of its remit · Strategy committee where marketing-investment scrutiny complements other directors |
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Capacity and preferences
- Time available
- 22 days per year
- Current directorships
- 0
- Sectors
- Specialist consumer retail · Creative services · Businesses with material creator and community relationships
- Company type
- A consumer or service business seeking careful scrutiny of brand relationships alongside experienced legal, financial and operating directors
- Company stage
- Considering acquisition identity, creative partnerships or the evidence for marketing expansion
The seat I am pursuing
I am interested in one first non-executive role at a consumer or creative-services business where brand relationships and marketing investment are consequential board topics. A brand, customer or suitably constituted strategy committee could be a useful setting after induction and assessment of eligibility. I would not seek a chair role on the strength of executive presentations. I have no statutory directorship, and my IICA databank preparation remains unfinished because registration has not yet occurred. The prospective board should offer complementary expertise and a chair willing to distinguish a useful question from an instruction to management. I would want to contribute to a confident decision when the evidence supports it, including where a programme's purpose is broader than immediate sales. The appointment would need to fit my continuing obligations and a realistic calendar, with professional review of the company's requirements before acceptance.
Board and committee exposure
Presented to the Board or a committee
Zelquari Art Stores
Board brand, acquisition-identity and marketing-investment reviews; executive presenter
March 2021–Present
Presents marketing recommendations through the CEO, including brand continuity, campaign measurement and artist programmes; no voting director appointment.
Governance learning and readiness
IICA Independent Directors’ Databank: Not yet registered
Devansh has not yet registered in the IICA independent directors databank. No completed assessment or exemption is claimed; the applicable preparation and eligibility requirements remain to be addressed.
- Executive marketing and brand presentations to Zelquari directors since March 2021
- Preparation planned on collective board duties and the distinction from creative management
- IICA registration is a planned step; assessment preparation has not been completed