Chief Marketing Officer — Foundation-Model Platform

The mandate

The foundation-model market has become crowded with similar claims, while acquisition cost has risen and commercial conversion remains uneven. The organisation has strong technical assets but has not expressed clearly which enterprise problems it solves better, for whom, or with what evidence. At the same time, a responsible-AI control build is changing what the company can substantiate. The Chief Marketing Officer will turn that work into credible differentiation rather than defensive compliance language.

The operating context includes approximately ₹900 crore in AI product and services revenue and nearly 450 employees and material partners across India, Pune and the wider region. Marketing touches platform positioning, portfolio narrative, demand generation, field enablement, customer evidence and corporate reputation. Today those activities do not share one sufficiently disciplined view of target customer, buying problem or contribution.

The aim is brand preference and commercial impact, not volume of attention. You will establish a position that acknowledges foundation-model complexity while helping buyers make confident choices. Responsible-AI evidence should support claims at the level of product behaviour, deployment context and governance. Broad promises that cannot survive customer diligence must disappear, even if they produce short-term leads.

Why this seat is open

An accelerated transition has created an urgent replacement need. Interim leadership protects immediate activity, but the control build and marketing reset cannot remain under split ownership. The board seeks a permanent appointment within six to eight weeks and will communicate predecessor circumstances professionally once a transition is agreed. The role is onsite in Pune and reports to the Group Chief Executive or designated executive committee sponsor.

What you will own

You will segment the market through customer economics and buying conditions rather than broad industry labels. Select the use cases and accounts where the platform’s capability and responsible-AI evidence create a defensible advantage. Product, sales and marketing should agree common definitions for qualified demand, proof, adoption and expansion. Propositions that rely on vague transformation claims need to be rebuilt or withdrawn.

Marketing investment must become transparent. You will connect programme spend to pipeline quality, conversion, customer acquisition cost, sales-cycle movement and retained revenue, accounting for long enterprise buying periods. Attribution will never be perfect, but it must be useful for allocation. Agencies, events and content should compete for funding against measured contribution, not historic entitlement.

The control build requires close partnership with product, legal, risk and technical teams. You will create a governed claims process that remains practical for campaigns and field use. Customer evidence must specify context and limitations. When incidents or contentious public issues arise, the CMO should coordinate factual communication without outrunning technical investigation.

You will also reshape a 450-person employee and partner perimeter. Decision rights across brand, growth, product marketing, communications and regions need clarity. Leaders should own outcomes and develop successors; scarce specialists should be placed behind priority customer journeys rather than fragmented across campaigns.

The first 12 months

Within 90 days, establish the commercial and reputational baseline. Analyse demand sources, conversion, acquisition economics, brand research and lost opportunities. Audit important claims against available responsible-AI evidence and speak with customers who selected, expanded or rejected the platform. Assess the marketing team and agree priority segments, measurement rules and immediate claim corrections.

During months four to nine, launch the sharpened position in selected journeys, redirect spend from low-quality activity and equip sellers with evidence appropriate to buyer scrutiny. Put the claims process into normal campaign workflow and demonstrate an early improvement in qualified conversion or acquisition efficiency. Fill leadership gaps and simplify the agency and technology estate.

By year end, stronger brand preference, commercial contribution and disciplined investment should be visible through multiple reporting periods. The board should receive a reconciled plan connecting addressable demand, marketing capacity and revenue assumptions, including actions if a priority segment does not respond. Responsible-AI evidence should function as a market asset and a boundary on overstatement.

What the board will measure

The first-year commercial contribution should land within 10% of approval, with leading variance explained before quarter close. Forecasts over three quarters must reconcile qualified pipeline, customer acquisition spend, conversion, revenue and people. An agreed constraint in responsible claims or acquisition effectiveness needs measurable improvement from a verified starting point.

High-impact reputation and execution issues should close by their approved dates with evidence that correction lasts. The company expects retention of at least 90% among critical marketing and responsible-AI talent and ready cover for 70% of direct reports. No severe claims or customer escalation may drift beyond 30 days without formal resolution.

The person

You are a CMO, Marketing Director or Growth Leader with 22–28 years in AI, enterprise software, cloud, data infrastructure, analytics, applied research or a comparable complex B2B market. You have owned at least ₹700 crore in P&L, budget, book or accountable commercial portfolio and led a minimum of 325 people.

Your evidence includes repositioning a technically complex proposition, improving acquisition economics and governing high-stakes claims. You can show how marketing changed customer behaviour and commercial results, not merely awareness. The board will explore a campaign or portfolio choice where evidence required you to reject the convenient story. References must distinguish your decisions from product momentum or market growth.

Compensation and terms

The expected package is ₹2.2–3.0 crore fixed plus performance variable, calibrated to final scope and current mix. Any long-term participation follows ordinary vesting and performance provisions. A notice period of up to six months can be accommodated. The appointment offers frequent access to the board and its investment committee.

Confidentiality

The client name, precise footprint, predecessor information and transaction history are excluded. They will be provided to qualified candidates under a mutual undertaking; composite facts in this brief must not be reverse-engineered or circulated.