upGrad onboards Ankit Khirwal as Head of Marketing

Ankit Khirwal comes from Pepperfry and in his new role will lead the end-to-end marketing efforts across the organisation and manage all aspects of Marketing and Public Relations for upGrad.

upGrad today announced the onboarding of Ankit Khirwal who has joined the upGrad management team as the Vice President - Marketing. Welcoming Ankit to his new role, Arjun Mohan, CEO-India, upGrad said, "We are thrilled to have Ankit onboard. His proven experience in deepening brand presence, expanding the consumer funnel, and scaling up revenue will be invaluable in helping upGrad maintain its rapid growth to meet the strong demand with the expansion of our footprint in international markets and new verticals.”

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Ankit Khirwal was earlier Marketing Head at Pepperfry where, as a part of the senior leadership team, he managed the entire marketing function. In addition to marketing, he has also led various verticals including Category Management, Financial Planning & Strategy. Prior to Pepperfry, as an analyst at RBS International, he worked on key Debt Capital Market transactions for Indian corporates. An IIM-Bangalore alumnus, Ankit is a Chartered Accountant by qualification and a graduate of the Shri Ram College of Commerce.  

Ankit Khirwal, Vice President – Marketing  (Head of Marketing, India), said, “I was the first person in my entire family to pursue studies beyond under-graduation. I understand and value the importance of education in life. It is an exciting time to be part of the global online education revolution and it will be a fulfilling experience to take upGrad’s philosophy of LifelongLearning ahead.”

The recently turned unicorn with a valuation of $1.2 Bn is making back-to-back boardroom additions which will further fuel the brand's growth across geographies.