USD40M
Zero-to-one in 12 months · RG Brands, Central Asia
Reporting to the founder-owner, launched two soft-drink brands across three Central Asian markets. Reached 10% market share in 15 months, with EBITDA on target. (2024–26)
For the business
Fractional CMO leadership
Commercially grounded strategy across positioning, portfolio, pricing, channels and go-to-market.
- Revenue
- Market share
- EBITDA
- Marketing returns
With specialist partners
- AI-native Performance Marketing
- AI-enabled content for TV & Digital
For the people who will lead it
Performance Coaching
Structured coaching to help leaders build confidence, strengthen their impact and navigate change.
- Purpose-driven leadership
- Change readiness
- High-performing teams
- Emotional Intelligence
- NLP led In-the-Moment coaching
CMO-AS-A-
Growing family businesses. Coaching the next generation to run them.
Book your Compass Conversation
Free · one hour · online
25+ YearsBuilding brands
Growing leaders
Who I work with
Where are you in the business journey?
What you may be thinking
“My marketing budget is growing, but is it driving business growth?”
You built the business with instinct and commercial judgement. As marketing grows more complex, from digital channels to AI, you need a clear strategy, a team you trust and a stronger link between spend and business results, without unnecessary overhead.
What you want
- A clear marketing strategy linked to business priorities
- A stronger, more accountable marketing team
- AI transformation for marketing productivity
- Better returns from marketing investment
- The right capabilities without an oversized organisation
How CMO-as-a-Coach helps
- Fractional CMO leadership embedded in your existing team
- Commercially grounded strategy across positioning, portfolio, pricing, channels and go-to-market
- AI-native workflows with specialist partners for content, performance and e-commerce
- Coaching that builds your team’s capability
The record behind it
Commercial experience. Measurable outcomes.
Selected results from leadership roles in a family-owned group and global FMCG businesses, combining commercial performance with people development.
+310bps
Share growth in KSA · FrieslandCampina, Middle East
Repositioned a legacy milk brand, gaining +160 bps in the UAE and delivering +11% EBIT on +3% net-sales growth. MENA Effie, 2019. (2017–21)
USD25M+
New revenue · Pepsi-Lipton JV, MENA
Launched Lipton Ice Tea across markets in MENA via PepsiCo bottlers. MENA Effie, 2016. (2013–16)
USD25M
Revenue from a standing start · Cheese, FrieslandCampina
Built new business models, a joint venture and third-party sourcing across retail and foodservice. (2017–24)
10+
Nationalities coached · Executive Coaching
Over five years, coached business owners and next-generation leaders across the Gulf, Central Asia and India. (2021 onwards)
The next chapter could be yours.
Book your Compass ConversationIn a family business, the future of the brand and the future of its leadership are connected.
How I help
Two sides of performance. One joined-up perspective.
I provide fractional CMO leadership for the business and performance coaching for the people who will lead it. Work with me on either, or bring the two together, alongside your existing team and specialist partners.
For the business
Fractional CMO
Strategy that connects marketing to commercial results, with specialist partners to deliver it.
Strategy
- Market intelligence across consumer, customer, category and competition (the 4Cs)
- Brand positioning and a distinctive Brand Key
- Occasion, Brand, Pack, Price, Channel strategy (OBPPC)
- Go-to-market planning
- Communication strategy and creative direction
Services, with specialist partners
- AI-enabled marketing workflows
- TV and digital content, including AI-enabled video
- Design: UI/UX, websites and visual identity
- Performance marketing across Google and Meta
- Analytics, attribution and real-time dashboards
- E-commerce management and retail media
For the people who will lead it
Performance Coaching
Six-session coaching modules for owners, next-generation leaders and executives.
LIGHTHOUSE COACHING model for Leadership based on
- your personal and professional needs
- business reality
- real-world use cases
- deep commercial knowledge
- customised tools and frameworks
- Executive Leadership
- Values & Purpose
- Career Growth
- Time Management
- Emotional Intelligence
- Stakeholder Management
- Wellbeing
- Soft Skills
- Executive Presence
- Leadership Development
My personal belief
“Everyone has an image of the best versions of themselves.”
Carl R. Rogers
With the right partner, self-discovery, solutions and actions, one can reach their true potential: their North Star.
CMO-as-a-Coach
Meet Devraj
After 25 years running marketing and P&Ls for Unilever, the Pepsi-Lipton JV and FrieslandCampina, and then two years on the executive team of a family-owned beverage group, I noticed something.
The results people remembered were the brands. The results they thanked me for were the leaders those brands produced. So I trained as a coach while still doing the marketing day job, earned my PCC (ICF), and stopped choosing between the two.
CMO-as-a-Coach is simply what that looks like: the commercial judgement of a CMO who has carried the number, and the development mindset of a coach who builds the people who will carry it next.
In 2024 I founded The Polaris Compass to do exactly that for family-owned consumer businesses in the Gulf, India and Central Asia: Fractional CMO for the business, and coach to the next generation that will lead it.
- IIT Kharagpur
- XIMB
- London Business School
In their words
Testimonials
Devraj as a coach is able to use his extensive marketing and leadership experience and marry it with true empathetic listening.
His guidance, support, and belief in my potential implanted in me a sense of confidence and determination.
Devraj was instrumental in my career progression through his guidance in managing stakeholders within a complex joint venture.
Whether you need the services of a seasoned marketer or need an executive coach to help you steer your career in the right direction, I would strongly recommend Devraj.
I think the biggest discovery was the alignment of my values and beliefs as a person to the work I am doing and the business I am running.
The right coaching support at the right time can be a life changer, thank you Devraj for that!
Devraj is a very good listener. Within a short engagement, he was able to bring out what elements were key for me to think about and focus on.
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The Compass Conversation
One complimentary hour. Plus One Insight to Action.
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Book a time
Choose a convenient slot for a one-hour online conversation.
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Talk it through
Bring the business challenge, leadership question or decision on your mind. We’ll explore your context, your people and what progress needs to look like.
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Leave with a direction
Leave with a clearer view of the next step, even if we decide not to work together.
Plus One Insight to Action
Before you book
Is it really free?
Yes. It’s a complimentary 60-minute online conversation, with no obligation to work together. Just have a business, professional or personal challenge ready to share.
Is it a sales call?
No. It’s a working conversation about your business, your people and the challenge in front of you. If there’s a fit, we can discuss what working together might look like.
Do I have to choose between fractional CMO support and coaching?
No. You can work with me on either, or combine both: fractional CMO leadership for the business and coaching for the people leading it.
Where do you work?
I’m based in Dubai and work with family businesses across the UAE, MENA, Central Asia, Africa and India. Compass Conversations are online. I’m also available for on-the-ground Sprints, one week a month, at your place of work.
Complimentary · 60 minutes · Online
Book your Compass Conversation.
One complimentary hour. Plus One Insight to Action.
Compass Conversation
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What happens next: a calendar invite and video link by email. No pitch, no obligation.