Apeksha Gupta

CEO, John Jacobs | INSEAD

Delhi, India

About

I build brands that punch above their category weight, and stay there. From building John Jacobs into the largest eyewear brand from India, to scaling premium retail at Lenskart globally, I focus on what makes a product irresistible and a business scalable. Over the past years, I’ve helped build John Jacobs into a $150M+ revenue brand, combining sharp consumer insight, creatively-led marketing, and commercial discipline. My experience spans P&L ownership, GTM, retail operations, category launches, inventory management, and scaling across D2C, omni-channel, and 2000+ retail stores. Nothing energises me more than building unique and memorable consumer experiences through the products and brands I build.

Experience

  • John Jacobs (6 yrs 11 mos)
    • Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer
      Sep 2021 - Aug 2025 · 4 yrs

      As CEO and co-founder of John Jacobs, my focus has been on scaling the brand from a design-led challenger to an innovative, $150M+ global business. Today, John Jacobs is present across India, the UAE, Singapore, and Saudi Arabia across 2000+ points of sale. Our growth has been driven by a creative engine built around product, storytelling, and partnerships. We co-created with Netflix and leading designers, shaped campaigns with actors, musicians, and athletes, and made the brand a fixture in both fashion media and youth culture. But behind the scenes, it’s been just as much about operations - executing the brand experience across John Jacobs EBOs and the Lenskart network, D2C e-commerce and marketplaces, leading cross-functional teams, expanding internationally, and turning cultural capital into commercial outcomes. I bring a lens that blends brand vision with operating discipline, and I’m energised by platforms, partnerships, and ideas that move culture forward.

    • Associate General Manager and Founding Member
      Oct 2018 - Aug 2021 · 2 yrs 11 mos

      As a founding team member, have played a pivotal role in establishing John Jacobs as an independent brand entity within India, Singapore and UAE, with a distinct brand design language, strong performance metrics on brand recall, NPS, customer experience and quality. We are the #1 D2C eyewear brand in India.

  • Business Head, India at OWNDAYS CO LTD
    Apr 2024 - Jul 2025 · 1 yr 4 mos

  • Lenskart.com (Full-time · 6 yrs 10 mos)
    • CXO
      Sep 2021 - Jul 2025 · 3 yrs 11 mos

      Have donned multiple hats at my stint in Lenskart. I have been a part of the founding teams of John Jacobs, Hooper, and OWNDAYS business in India, as well as worked on early international expansion of the organisation in Singapore and Dubai markets

    • Associate General Manager
      Oct 2018 - Aug 2021 · 2 yrs 11 mos

  • Chief Manager- Buying & Merchandising at Marks and Spencer
    Nov 2017 - Oct 2018 · 1 yr

  • Diesel (2 yrs 8 mos)
    • Buyer- Diesel & Diesel Black Gold
      Apr 2015 - Feb 2017 · 1 yr 11 mos

    • Assistant Manager, Planning
      Jul 2014 - Mar 2015 · 9 mos