Mr. Bijou Kurien

Mr. Bijou Kurien (Independent Director)

Mr. Bijou Kurien is a distinguished consumer business leader with over 40 years of experience in building brands, scaling enterprises, and shaping organisations. He has been associated with leading names across the fast-moving consumer goods, consumer durables, and retail sectors in India. After completing his PGDBM from XLRI Jamshedpur, he started his professional journey with Hindustan Unilever as a Management Trainee in 1981.

During his successful tenure of more than six years, he undertook diverse roles across sales and marketing. He later moved to Titan, India’s largest manufacturer and retailer of watches and jewellery. As part of the founding team, he contributed to the creation of several iconic lifestyle and accessories brands and was instrumental in establishing one of the country’s largest exclusive brand retail networks. Over his 19-year association with Titan, as COO, he played a significant role in driving the company’s growth and laying the foundation for some of India’s most valuable consumer lifestyle brands.

Driven by the opportunity to redefine the retail landscape in India, he assumed the role of President & CEO at Reliance Industries for its ambitious retail venture—Reliance Retail. He was deeply involved in building and scaling the business from 2006 to 2014. Today, Reliance Retail is a dominant force in Indian retail and ranks among the fastest-growing retailers globally. He has since transitioned from operational leadership to advisory roles with private equity firms and their portfolio companies.

He also serves as an Independent Director on the Boards of multiple listed and unlisted companies across technology, logistics, poultry, consumer/retail, hospitality and education sectors. He is also the Chairman of the Retailers Association of India (RAI), underscoring his continued contribution to the sector’s evolution. He has been associated with the World Retail Congress (WRC) since its inception in 2007.