Deepa Harris
Board of DirectorsDeepa Misra Harris, Senior Vice President – Global Sales & Marketing, successfully leads and enhances critical sales and marketing initiatives in India and abroad for the Taj Group.
Deepa oversees the sales and marketing function for Taj Group worldwide encompassing the worldwide sales force, distribution, central reservations, brand marketing, public relations, social media, marketing communications and advertising functions. Taj Group consists of 122 hotels globally under four brands: 27 hotels in the Luxury brand Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces which includes the iconic flagship – The TajMahal Palace in Mumbai, landmark city hotels in key gateway cities across the world, idyllic beach resorts, authentic royal palaces and Taj Safari Lodges; 41 Vivanta by Taj Hotels & Resorts; 27 Gateway Hotels & Resorts in India and 27 Ginger hotels in India.
She has over 30 years experience in hospitality sales and marketing. She was Vice President Marketing prior to taking on her current role in November, 2011. She is the only specialist to have served separately as Vice President Sales and Vice President Marketing before taking the lead job to oversee both functions. She has worked across most markets in India and abroad and has played an integral role in the growth of the Taj brand, including the recent Brand Architecture exercise and the roll-out of the new Vivanta by Taj and Gateway brands. As global head for Sales and Marketing, she is responsible for formulating the strategic framework and deployment whilst driving top line growth for Taj to its current market leadership position. The Taj brand architecture is a case study at the Harvard Business School.
Deepa is on the board of several group companies – Taj GVK Hotels and Resorts Limited, Piem Hotels Limited, Northern India Hotels Limited, Piem International (H.K.) Limited, Taj Karnataka Hotels and Resorts Limited, GVK EMRI and TAL Lanka Hotels PLC. She also serves on key industry boards, including Hotel Association of India, PATA, Experience India Society (the India Ministry of Tourism’s private/public think tank partnership), the Luxury Marketing Council of India, the marketing advisory board for Leading Hotels of the World and the Advisory board for CMO Council India. She is also on the board of Trustees of Taj Public Service Welfare Trust.
Deepa is also the first hospitality executive representative to be named by a leading business publication to India’s prestigious list of the top 50 women, for two consecutive years, whose proven leadership skills have helped them successfully break through the glass ceiling to triumph in their fields. She is also amongst the Impact list of 50 most influential women in Media, Marketing and Advertising.