Purnima Lamba is currently Global Vice President at TRESemme, where she leads brand strategy, innnovation, and communication for some of the best loved beauty brands in the world. She has 22 years experience working at Unilever, 20 of which were spent in India. She returned to London two years ago, bringing with her, her expertise across makeup, skincare and haircare.
Tell us about your career journey after graduating.
I started with an entrepreneurial venture, setting up India’s pioneering women’s portal – SoulKurry.com, that led to an accidental introduction to the Unilever new ventures team and a subsequent 20+ year love story with beauty that followed. In my time at Unilever I have been able to re-invent some of their biggest beauty brands by re-connecting brand heritage through storytelling. My career has come full circle, it started with my academic journey in the UK at LSE and has now culminated in a return to London to lead the hairstyling brand - TRESemme, at Unilever.
How has the programme you studied helped your career since you graduated?
My time at LSE informed my world view, and I was particularly interested in the debates around globalisation. This fuelled my MSc thesis which argued that the world is flat, this is something I have continued to apply in my approach to global brand management.
What’s the best piece of career advice you’ve received?
It probably would have to be, build your strengths, and don’t dwell on your weaknesses!
What’s the greatest challenge you’ve had to overcome?
In my current role, every time my team looks to create a global brand campaign, there always seems to be a a tug towards a more local approach, subsquently forcing us to tailor our strategy accordingly. Finding the balance between this, and a global commonality continues to be a great challenge.
What are your hopes for the future?
The thing that bothers me the most about the world we live in is inequality, more opportunities need to be afforded to those who have never previously had the chance, and my hope is that the future will belong to citizens of the world, a truly flat world for all!
Share with us your fondest memory of the Department of Management.
My fondest memories of the Department are due to the diverse group of people I met, the network I have formed, and the friends who have become my family, particularly since moving back to London. The alumni made my return to the city in 2021 a much cherished homecoming.
The LSE has such a rich legacy of great thinkers – and I was happy to read that Professor Diane Reyniers and Professor Peter Abbell, who I was very much in awe of from my student years, continue to be associated with the Department.
If you would like to be profiled or if you would like to nominate a Department of Management alumni, please email dom.alumni@lse.ac.uk.