Smytten has appointed Shishir Varma as Chief Executive Officer of PulseAI Research Powered by Smytten, its AI-led consumer intelligence and research platform. The appointment comes as Smytten looks to scale its capabilities in delivering actionable consumer insights for brands through AI-driven solutions.
Varma brings over three decades of global experience in consumer insights, having led P&L businesses across APAC, including India, China and Japan. Most recently, he served as Managing Director, Insights at Kantar Japan, where he worked closely with senior leadership teams across organisations.
He is known for translating complex data into business decisions and has also played a key role in building and scaling Millward Brown in India.
“Consumer research has been constrained by speed, scale, and the authenticity of data. With PulseAI Research, we’re fundamentally rethinking that model by combining real product interactions with AI-led insights to create a more reliable and dynamic understanding of consumers. What excites me the most is the ability to tap into observed behavior and unlock insights that are not just faster, but significantly more predictive and actionable,” said Shishir Varma, CEO, PulseAI Research.
He further added, “We believe the future of consumer intelligence will be built on real-world interactions at scale, not just surveys. PulseAI Research represents a new category where AI meets live consumer behavior, enabling brands to make sharper, more confident decisions in days, not weeks. The opportunity to build this intelligence layer-powered by millions of authentic product experiences and translate it into meaningful outcomes for brands, is incredibly compelling.”
“We are thrilled to welcome Shishir as the CEO of PulseAI Research. He is highly relevant for where we are taking this platform, given his deep grounding in insights and analytics, strong credibility with brands, and proven ability to scale data-led platforms globally. He has the rare combination of a builder’s mindset and large-company experience, having set up and grown Millward Brown (now part of Kantar) in India from scratch. We are confident that he will help us disrupt the consumer intelligence space and evolve PulseAI Research into a category-leading, AI-driven intelligence engine.” said Siddhartha Nangia, Co-founder, Smytten and PulseAI Research.
