With close to 18 years of diverse experience, Abhinav is a seasoned marketing and communications leader specializing in brand strategy, digital marketing, CRM, public relations, and event management, with a strong focus on the hospitality industry. Abhinav’s expertise spans luxury brand development, digital marketing & transformation, media planning, and loyalty program design & implementation, enabling him to drive impactful marketing campaigns and business growth across multiple regions, including India, the Middle East, the UK, and Sri Lanka. Today, he leads Marriott International’s largest on-property marketing team in the UAE as the Director of Marketing & Communications at W Abu Dhabi-Yas Island.
Throughout his career, Abhinav has played a pivotal role in establishing and elevating luxury brands by designing concepts, positioning products effectively, and executing high-impact marketing strategies. His leadership experience extends to both corporate/organization-wide and property-level roles, including hotel pre-openings, where Abhinav have successfully developed and led marketing initiatives. Further, his expertise in marketing to ultra/high-net-worth consumer segments has been instrumental in creating personalized, high-value brand experiences that drive customer loyalty and engagement
Abhinav has an in-depth understanding of media channels, including digital, print, television, radio, and public relations, for advertising and promotional activities. Additionally, his strong network of media connections across the UAE, the Middle East, India, and the UK has facilitated the successful launch and sustained growth of luxury & premium brands. His ability to manage large-scale media budgets, ranging from $4 million to $20 million in various assignments, has allowed him to optimize marketing investments and maximize brand exposure. In his preceding corporate role, Abhinav was the Group Head of Marketing & Sales (Commercial) for ITC Hotels’ (part of the ‘Luxury Collection’ brand of Marriott International) $450M mix-use development leading all aspects of marketing & sales strategy for hotel pre-opening, branded residences and commercial spaces.
A significant achievement in Abhinav’s career was leading the establishment of the digital marketing and e-commerce department for ITC Hotels under the 'Luxury Collection' brand of Marriott International in India. In this capacity, he developed and executed performance-driven digital marketing strategies, including search engine marketing (SEM), pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns, search engine optimization (SEO), display advertising, and social media marketing coupled with chain-wide brand operations. Abhinav’s work in digital transformation has enabled businesses to enhance their online presence, drive direct consumer engagement, and boost revenue through targeted digital initiatives.
Another notable accomplishment was launching India’s most recognized hospitality loyalty programs—Club ITC and Club ITC Culinaire. These programs have successfully strengthened customer retention, increased brand advocacy, and driven significant revenue growth by offering exclusive experiences and personalized rewards to members.
Beyond digital marketing and brand strategy, Abhinav has extensive experience in channel and trade marketing, including organizing roadshows, events, and pop-up activations. He has also managed enterprise-wide projects such as website and e-commerce platform development, CRM implementation using Siebel, and product information system (PIM) deployments. These initiatives have contributed to operational efficiency and seamless customer interactions across various touchpoints.
Additionally, Abhinav’s experience in working with leading global agencies—including Wunderman Thompson, Publicis, MSL, GroupM, and Wavemaker—has enabled me to leverage world-class marketing expertise and execute high-impact campaigns. Managing multi-geographical marketing operations has further honed my ability to navigate complexbusiness environments and drive collaboration across diverse teams.
As a leader, he takes pride in managing highly motivated, multicultural teams in a matrix structure, fostering innovation, and delivering results in competitive markets. Recently recognized as a part of the ‘Marketing Power List 2025 – 101 Best Hotel Marketeers in ME’ by Hotelier Middle East and ‘Best Hotel Marketing Team 2025 across EMEA’ by Marriot ELITE Awards, Abhinav’s ability to merge strategic vision with execution excellence has consistently positioned brands for long-term success.
Abhinav looks forward to leveraging his experience and expertise to drive meaningful marketing and business growth opportunities in the future.
