Niladri Shekar Dutta

About Niladri Shekar Dutta

We are all stories in the end—stitched together by the choices that make us, the risks that shape us, and those moments when we decide to become just a little better. For the past few years, I lived in the heartbeat of wireframes and pixels. Leading design teams at blazing-fast startups, I fell in love with design’s power to whisper solutions where chaos once screamed. Every button, every flow, every colour palette was a promise. And for a long time, that was enough.But deep down, I craved to design not just experiences, but futures. I’d sit in strategy meetings, watching brilliant minds reduce design to “the pretty part,” and my soul would ache. What if we could speak the language of boardrooms without losing our creative pulse? What if design wasn’t just a cost, but a compass? And as I grew, I began asking questions - How does design influence strategy? How do we measure its value in boardrooms, not just user journeys? These questions nudged me toward an unexpected pivot: an MBA at INSEAD. Some called it a detour; I saw it as unlocking a new lens.At INSEAD, I learned to marry EBITDA with empathy, see scalability as a design challenge, and argue that the best brands aren’t built on logos but on stories users feel. Business school was more than spreadsheets and case studies. It was about discovering how I could fit into organizations\' DNA.People often ask how I shifted worlds. The truth? I didn’t “shift.” I expanded. Like a painter learning music, I let curiosity guide me. Yes, there were nights I doubted—“Am I still a designer if I speak ROI?” But then I’d remember: Design isn’t a tool. It’s a mindset. A way to solve, to lead, to humanize growth.Today, I stand where art and arithmetic collide. As companies increasingly recognize design as a core competitive muscle, my mission is to lead teams where usability and profitability coexist, where user-centricity fuels growth, and where every pixel tells a story of purpose.As for me, I’m still writing my story! This is just the preface!

Experience

1. Head of Product Design

   Ownly

   Mar 2025 — Present · Bengaluru, IN

   Led the design team and product initiatives at Ownly (Rapido’s food delivery platform) through their zero-to-one stage formulating a value first marketplace.• Led user flows on the customer app across discovery, engagement and payment mapping daily eating behavior of various user segments and larger competitive landscape.• Worked closely with the founders, head of businesses, engineering and ops teams building product roadmap through structured sprints, building cadence and reducing technical debt

Education

• Army Public School Barrackpore

  High School, Mathematics and Computer Science

  2010 — 2012

• INSEAD

  Master of Business Administration - MBA

• National Institute of Technology Durgapur

  Bachelor of Technology - BTech

Skills

• Microsoft Office
• Dreamweaver
• Illustrator
• Html
• Adobe Illustrator
• Adobe Photoshop
• Graphic Design
• Social Media
• Indesign
• Microsoft Excel
• Powerpoint
• User Experience
• Web Design
• Illustration
• Cascading Style Sheets (Css)
• Advertising
• Css
• Photoshop
• Logo Design
• Typography
• Drawing
• Photography
• User Interface Design
• Microsoft Word
• Adobe Creative Suite