Kousik Dutta — CEO

I build revenue engines. Over 21 years across Eastern India’s telecom and distribution landscape, I’ve led large-scale business operations, built high-performing teams, expanded market share, and turned around underperforming territories into growth engines. Excited to now begin a new chapter as Assistant Vice President (AVP) at Paytm, driving growth in India’s rapidly evolving digital payments and offline merchant ecosystem. Before this transition, I was leading end-to-end circle operations for Bharti Airtel Kolkata Circle as Zonal Business Manager — covering GAC, GTM strategy, target setting, execution excellence, distribution expansion, and partner ROI. Prior to Airtel, I spent 12 years at Vodafone Idea in progressive leadership roles, growing from Zonal Distribution Lead to Mass Retail Distribution Head. At scale, I managed: • ₹660 Cr annual revenue • 500+ channel partners across West Bengal • 82 on-roll employees + 210 associates • 16,000 retailers | 71 lakh prepaid subscribers Some milestones I’m proud of: 🏆 Ranked #1 nationally in the S&D Leadership Dashboard for 3 consecutive financial years 🏆 Winner of “The Edge Award” — Best Zone in the country 🏆 Winner of “Strike Force Award” — #1 ZBM nationally 🏆 Selected for the Young Leadership Program — only ZBM from East India 🏆 Captured 50% market share from Reliance Communications in a single month 🏆 Reduced team attrition from 43% to below 15% within 9 months I’ve always believed growth is built through execution discipline, distribution strength, team culture, and market understanding. Over the years, I’ve also launched field initiatives like DAMRU, DODOMAA, Operation DURLABH, and DADGAIRI — several of which later became national best practices. Now at Paytm, I look forward to leveraging this experience to build stronger merchant ecosystems, accelerate offline business growth, and contribute to India’s digital transformation journey. If you are passionate about fintech, telecom, distribution, GTM strategy, or business transformation — let’s connect.

Stackforce AI infers this person is a Telecom and Fintech leader with extensive experience in business growth and distribution strategies.

Location: Kolkata, West Bengal, India

Experience: 13 yrs 9 mos

Skills

Business Development
Distribution Strategies

Career Highlights

Ranked #1 nationally in S&D Leadership Dashboard for 3 years
Captured 50% market share from Reliance Communications in one month
Reduced team attrition from 43% to below 15% in 9 months

Work Experience

Paytm

Assistant Vice President (0 mo)

airtel

General Manager (1 yr 6 mos)

Vodafone Idea Limited

Mass Retail Distribution Head (2 yrs 6 mos)

Zonal Sales Manager (6 yrs 5 mos)

Branch Manager (9 mos)

Zonal Distribution Lead (3 yrs 1 mo)

Education

Master of Business Administration - MBA at BIT Mesra Student-Industry Relations Cell

Bachelor of Commerce - BCom at St. Xavier's College (Autonomous), Kolkata

ISC at De Nobili School

Kousik Dutta

CEO

Kolkata, West Bengal, India13 yrs 9 mos experience

Highly Stable

Key Highlights

Ranked #1 nationally in S&D Leadership Dashboard for 3 years
Captured 50% market share from Reliance Communications in one month
Reduced team attrition from 43% to below 15% in 9 months

Stackforce AI infers this person is a Telecom and Fintech leader with extensive experience in business growth and distribution strategies.

Contact

Skills

Core Skills

Business DevelopmentDistribution Strategies

Other Skills

Team ManagementBusiness Process ManagementSales ManagementMarket PlanningSales ProcessesManagementChannel SalesLeadershipPublic SpeakingSocial MediaCustomer ServiceResearchMarketingTeam BuildingEvent Planning

About

Experience

13 yrs 9 mos

Total Experience

12 yrs 3 mos

Average Tenure

0 mo

Current Experience

Paytm

Assistant Vice President

May 2026 – Present · 0 mo · Kolkata · On-site

As AVP at Paytm, I will be leading business growth and merchant expansion across the region, driving offline payments adoption, strengthening distribution networks, building high-performing teams, and scaling market execution to accelerate Paytm’s presence in the digital payments ecosystem.

Airtel

General Manager

Nov 2024 – Present · 1 yr 6 mos · Kolkata · On-site

Managing end-to-end operations for Airtel's Kolkata Circle — from GAC and GTM strategy to target-setting, field execution, and channel partner ROI.
Leveraging 12+ years of deep Eastern India market expertise to accelerate distribution network performance and drive sustainable revenue growth

Vodafone idea limited

4 roles

Mass Retail Distribution Head

Promoted

May 2022 – Nov 2024 · 2 yrs 6 mos

Owned circle-level distribution P&L for ~500 channel partners across West Bengal and adjoining regions.
Key responsibilities:
Delivered Gross, GAS, UAO, DURO, and Revenue KPIs — achieving ₹7.30L+ monthly targets
Designed SAC/incentive plans and drove national initiative rollouts with SEM leadership
Launched DAMRU, DODOMAA, Operation DURLABH & DADGAIRI — adopted as national best practices
✦ Ranked #1 nationally on YTD basis — S&D Leadership Dashboard
✦ Won Vi Excellence Award for 6 consecutive months | Consistently Top 3 nationally
✦ Rated in top performance band for 9 consecutive annual cycles

Team ManagementBusiness Process ManagementDistribution StrategiesBusiness DevelopmentSales ManagementMarket Planning+1

Zonal Sales Manager

Promoted

Jun 2016 – Nov 2022 · 6 yrs 5 mos

Led GK Zone with ₹660 Cr annual revenue | 70 on-roll + 210 associates | 16,000 retailers | 185 main distributors.
Led North Bengal zone with ₹400 Cr revenue | 5 ASMs | 50 TSXs | 120 main distributors.
Captured 50% market share from Reliance Communication (Nov 2018) — reversing Vodafone's CMS deficit
Managed 7 Vodafone stores + 32 VF Mini-Stores + SPO business with 10 team leaders
Delivered EBITDA and P&L, maintaining 6-day stock cycles and timely primary contributions
✦ 'The Edge Award' — Best Zone in the country (FY2016–17)
✦ 'Strike Force Award' — #1 ZBM nationally, FY2016–17 (Europe trip incentive)
✦ Best Zone in Zonathon: AMJ'19, OND'19, JFM'20 | North Bengal best since inception
✦ Reduced employee attrition from 43% → under 15% in 9 months

Team ManagementBusiness Process ManagementDistribution StrategiesBusiness DevelopmentSales ManagementMarket Planning+1

Branch Manager

Promoted

Aug 2015 – May 2016 · 9 mos

Drove ₹100 Cr annual consumer business for Burdwan Branch | 7,000+ retailers | 12 lakh subscribers | 60 main distributors | 3 districts.
Led 20 on-roll and 60 associate staff. Delivered P&L, EBITDA, and SAC savings while expanding channel infrastructure.
✦ 'Best in Class MNP Award' + 'Combat Force Award' (Best Branch) — FY2015–16
✦ M-Pesa Malamaal Award (×2) | Data Spartan Award (×3)
✦ #1 Branch Manager ranking across the circle, FY2015–16

Team ManagementBusiness Process ManagementDistribution StrategiesBusiness DevelopmentSales ManagementMarket Planning+1

Zonal Distribution Lead

Jul 2012 – Aug 2015 · 3 yrs 1 mo

Led prepaid distribution for 2 ASMs, 8 TSMs, 18 TSOs across North 24 Parganas and Nadia. Managed 26 main + 50 associate distributors. Delivered ₹70 Cr annual tertiary revenue.
Transformed Vodafone from a distant 3rd to a competitive MNP leader in the zone
Drove successful 3G rollout — secured firm foothold in data universe
Achieved 1 lakh+ unbarrings in a single month — first-ever for the branch
✦ 'Employee of the Year' — FY2012–13 (all-round achievement)
✦ 4 Combat Force Awards | 10 Data Spartan Awards | Mega Star Award (JAS 2013)