Saurabh Bharara

About Saurabh Bharara

Senior business leader with 25+ years of experience across luxury hospitality and retail, currently heading India’s most prestigious luxury mall portfolio at DLF. I lead the overall business for DLF Emporio and The Chanakya including asset enhancement, leasing strategy, luxury brand partnerships, P&L and yield management, consumer experience design, and large-scale operations.My career spans global hotel groups such as Oberoi Hotels & Resorts, The Leela, Marriott International, and The Ritz-Carlton. Across these roles, I have managed multi-million-dollar businesses, developed high-performance teams, elevated service standards, and built strong relationships with international luxury brands.I bring a hospitality-driven, experience-focused approach to retail with a strong emphasis on customer journey, commercial performance, analytics, and premium brand curation.Key strengths include:• Luxury tenant mix strategy• Leasing & brand onboarding• Retail operations & footfall optimisation• Premium customer experience design• Event curation & luxury marketing• Cross-Cultural Leadership• Pre-opening and Project Management• Strategic partnerships with global brands• P&L management & revenue optimisation• Cross-functional leadership• Mixed-use Developments Management• Luxury Asset Management

Experience

1. Vice President & Head Luxury Malls

   DLF Limited

   Jul 2023 — Present · Delhi, IN

   Leading India’s most exclusive luxury retail destinations - DLF Emporio and The Chanakya, responsible for:Strategic Leadership & Business Growth• Drove end-to-end business operations for India’s most exclusive luxury mall portfolio, overseeing leasing, operations, marketing, finance and customer experience• Designed high-performing luxury tenant mix strategies to attract and retain global premium brands• Negotiated high-value leasing agreements with international fashion, jewellery and lifestyle brands• Strengthened mall positioning with data-backed commercial planning and brand curation• Led P&L management, improving occupancy, NOI and overall profitabilityCustomer Experience & Brand Activation• Introduced signature luxury events and brand activations to elevate HNI/UHNI engagement• Standardised premium customer service frameworks inspired by global luxury hospitality benchmarks• Enhanced consumer journey mapping and implemented service enhancements across touchpointsOperational Excellence• Streamlined mall operations with strong governance on safety, security and service delivery• Built and mentored cross-functional teams across leasing, marketing, operations and analytics• Implemented analytics-led retail performance monitoring to optimise footfall and sales

Education

• Delhi University

  Bachelor's degree, Arts

  1995 — 1998

• Institute of Hotel Management, Pusa

  Diploma, Hotel Management

  1995 — 1998

• St. Francis De Sales, Delhi

  Science

  1982 — 1995

Skills

• Sales Management
• Budgets
• Conferences
• Sales
• Hospitality Management
• Customer Relations
• Guest Satisfaction
• Forecasting
• Food & Beverage
• Pricing Strategy
• Customer Service
• Hotel Booking
• Pre-Opening
• Customer Satisfaction
• Training
• Business Strategy
• New Business Development
• Front Office
• Management
• Revenue Management
• Numerical Analysis
• Hospitality Industry
• Pricing
• Problem Solving
• Inventory Management
• Business Planning
• Account Management
• Revenue Analysis
• Marketing Strategy
• Rooms Division
• Property Management Systems
• Guest Service
• Event Management
• Strategy
• Key Account Management
• Budgeting
• Recruiting
• Marketing
• Yield Management
• Leadership