Abhishek Thakur (AT)

Sharpshooter
DISC Type : DC

Head of Strategy - Appstore at PhonePe

Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

Overview

Abhishek leads strategy for the Indus Appstore at PhonePe, bringing eleven years of experience in monetization, adtech, and digital marketing. He is responsible for driving strategic initiatives, partnerships, and overall growth. He holds an MBA from the Indian School of Business, where he was honored with the Torchbearer Award for leadership.

Outside of his core responsibilities, Abhishek is deeply interested in the practical and philosophical implications of technology. He reflects on topics ranging from the true nature of artificial intelligence to what drives long-term customer loyalty, valuing how companies respond to failure more than their initial mistakes.

An interesting fact: He has remained a loyal Swiggy user for a decade, even after they once took five hours to deliver noodles instead of the biryani he ordered.

Personality Overview

Fast But Analytical

Rigorous & Demanding

Precise But Practical

They do not care very much about building rapport or relationships.  They put a lot of effort into ensuring personal success. They prefer to move quickly, and expect the same from others.

Topics They Care About

AI Adoption
He is focused on scaling consumer AI to millions of users in India and believes in showcasing AI's practical applications rather than just its potential.
App Store Growth
He is proud of milestones like the Indus Appstore reaching 100 million devices, seeing it as proof of building a platform users genuinely want.
Monetization Strategy
A core area of his expertise for over a decade, he leads monetization efforts for both the Ads vertical and the Indus Appstore at PhonePe.

Media Appearances

Abhishek has no verified media appearances

Work History

4-2025
Head of Strategy - Appstore at PhonePe
2-2024 - 9-2025
Head of Strategy - Ads at PhonePe
5-2022 - 2-2024
Senior Vice President - Demand Strategy & Marketing at AdOnMo
8-2021 - 5-2022
Management Consultant at Accenture
1-2019 - 4-2020
Manager - Display Advertising at MiQ

Education

2020 - 2021
Post Graduate Programme in Management from Indian School of Business
2010 - 2014
B from SRM IST Chennai

More Information

Social Presence :

Prographics :

Exp : 9 Location : Bengaluru, Karnataka, India Job Level : Mid-senior Designation : Head of Strategy - Appstore at PhonePe
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Insights For Selling To Abhishek

During A Call Or A Meeting

DO's

  • Use phrases like ‘it’s your decision’, ‘strategic impact’ etc.
  • Be respectful but crisp
  • Hold your ground without indulging in one-upmanship

DONT's

  • Do not hesitate from asking counter questions, just avoid challenging their authority
  • Avoid being too verbose
  • Don't try too hard to forge relationships with them

When Cold Calling

When Writing An Email

While Negotiating & Closing

    The secret to closing fast with Abhishek is

  • Conviction around the impact matters the most to them, followed by a sense of achievement and ROI.
  • Will you ever get a clear answer from Abhishek

  • If they decide not to use your product, they will say no clearly.

Insights For Deal Planning

    How fast (or slow) will Abhishek move?

  • If convinced, they can reach decisions quite fast.
  • Can Abhishek take some risk or not?

  • They do not shy away from taking risks, but can be quite binary about them.

You And Abhishek

Personality Compatibility


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