Kult has appointed Rishi Patnaik as Chief Business Officer (CBO), effective October 14, 2025. In his new role, he will oversee business growth, brand strategy, and market expansion as Kult scales its presence in the beauty and personal care segment.
Rishi Patnaik brings over two decades of experience across online and offline retail channels. Before joining Kult, he held senior leadership positions at Nykaa Fashion, Jabong, and Noon. At Nykaa Fashion, where he served as Senior Vice President, he led e-commerce strategy, business development, and brand management. He was responsible for launching Revolve store on a B2B2C model with international fulfillment in India and led the launches of footlocker.in and Footlocker Exclusive online. He also acquired the fast fashion brand Cider for India and onboarded it on the platform.
Prior to Nykaa Fashion, Rishi played key roles at Noon, Jabong, and Landmark (Lifestyle), contributing to the growth of their e-commerce and omnichannel operations. At Noon, he helped grow the softlines contribution on Noon.com by 25% and doubled the BPC & Fragrance business within 18 months. At Jabong, he helped the company achieve market leadership in fashion within 18 months, negotiated several international brands into India’s online retail market for the first time, and developed private and licensee brands with significant bottom-line impact.
Rishi has also built direct partnerships with global brands such as Adidas, PVH, Mango, Bestseller, Coty, L’Oréal, Clinique, and Puma, and established a reliable global vendor base for white-label production. He has collaborated with marketplaces including Flipkart, Myntra, and Trendyol to list and sell brands and private labels.
On his appointment, Rishi Patnaik shared, “KULT is not merely a brand, it’s a fresh ‘Cult’ within the beauty and personal care space. It’s where innovation and technology meet and intersect with an in-depth knowledge of what consumers truly desire today. I think the Indian beauty e-commerce market is poised for change, and KULT’s AI-driven app is driving that change, making beauty discovery intelligent, personalized, and intuitive like never before. Through smart curation, recommendation based on data, and an easy-to-use interface, KULT is revolutionizing the way humans interact with beauty. This dedication, coupled with the team’s enthusiasm and accuracy, will assist KULT in forging a niche of its own. I feel very privileged to be a part of this amazing journey guided by our inspirational CEO, Karishma.”
Karishma Singh, CEO of KULT E-commerce, expressed her enthusiasm about Rishi’s appointment, stating, “I’m thrilled to welcome Rishi to Kult. He can zoom out on vision and zoom in on the details that ship. With a record of building consumer loved businesses and the operational rigor to scale them, he will turn a great product into a category defining company”
