Jewellery and watch retailer Titan on Friday named Ajoy Chawla as its next managing director. Chawla, 58, who currently heads Titan’s jewellery division, will take over from CK Venkataraman, who is set to retire on December 31. Chawla’s appointment is effective January 1, 2026.
Replacing Chawla is Arun Narayan, currently head of the Tanishq’s India business, who will become the CEO of the jewellery division from January 1, 2026. Kuruvilla Markose, currently the CEO of the international business division, will succeed Suparna Mitra, who has resigned, as the CEO of the watches division effective August 13.
Chawla’s elevation as Titan’s MD caps a long tenure at the firm. He joined Titan in 1991 and has held key roles across the watches, accessories, and jewellery segments. Before leading the jewellery division since October 2019, where sales and profits have more than doubled under his leadership, Chawla served as chief strategy officer at Titan. He spearheaded the launch of the fragrance business (SKINN) and ethnic wear brand Taneira.
While Titan reported an 18% sales growth in India for Q1, gold price volatility has been a challenge, impacting buyer growth for Tanishq, Mia, Zoya and CaratLane, it said last week.
According to experts, customers now prefer lightweight and lower karatage jewellery amid the volatility in gold prices, implying Titan may have to take note of these trends for the future.
Still, Titan is the largest-listed jewellery retailer in India by market capitalisation, with a retail network of 3,322 stores at the end of the June quarter.
Announcing the company’s full-year results for FY25, Venkataraman noted that the company had crossed the revenue milestone of `50,000 crore in a volatile market.
It was focused on expanding market share in FY26 despite competitive intensity and geopolitical issues, he added.
Narayan, meanwhile, has been leading the Tanishq India business since April 2020. An executive with over three decades of experience at the Tata group, Narayan has held key leadership positions at Titan in retail, marketing and sales.
Markose also has three decades behind him in various leadership roles within Tata Group, including FMCG, telecom, BPO, consulting, digital and retail across the group. He joined Titan as chief digital officer in 2015.