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Vinay Sharma

20+ years in digital marketing and user acquisition

Experience

I have spent my career scaling user acquisition and leading digital transformation, first in Indian e-commerce and travel during their fastest growth years, then across six countries in international education. Today I lead marketing for an international higher-education network, and I build AI tools on the side.

Roles, most recent first

  1. 2026 to now

    Marketing Director

    Global University Systems, India

    An international network of 36 higher-education institutions

    • Leading performance marketing, organic growth, AI-led marketing and analytics for the India business

  2. 2023 to 2026

    Founder

    Stepup Digital

    • Ran a digital marketing consultancy for clients across industries
    • Delivered paid media strategy and website optimisation for clients in India and abroad

  3. 2019 to 2023

    Regional Marketing Director, South Asia

    IDP Education

    Six countries

    • Led marketing operations across six countries: budgets, content and digital campaign performance
    • Drove digital transformation, including SAP and marketing automation rollouts
    • Built a machine-learning lead-scoring model with the data science team
    • Managed multi-million dollar budgets with a focus on return on investment
    • Ran contact centre operations and improved NPS and acquisition across the region

  4. 2014 to 2019

    Head of Online Marketing

    IDP Education

    India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore

    • Set up and scaled a Web Centre of Excellence serving the network countries
    • Grew web leads by more than 40% a year across South Asia
    • Grew SEO traffic and leads by more than 30% a year for three years in a row
    • Won IDP's Global Excellence award for Marketing Magic two years running

  5. 2011 to 2014

    Head of Online Marketing

    Yatra.com and associated brands

    Yatra.com, Travelguru, AdventureNation and Buzzintown

    • Grew customer acquisition 40% a year through search and affiliate channels
    • Grew organic traffic 60% a year through SEO
    • Led the move to a responsive website with a new SEO architecture
    • Built holiday lead generation from nothing to 500 leads a day

  6. 2010 to 2011

    Head of Online Marketing

    Snapdeal

    During the company's hypergrowth phase

    • Grew the user base to more than 5 million subscribers within a year
    • Kept subscriber acquisition above a million a month
    • Helped take the site into India's top 20 by traffic

Education

  • Advanced Certification in Generative AI and Large Language ModelsOutskill, 2025
  • Leading High-Performing Teams, six-month programmeThe University of Queensland
  • MBA, International BusinessInstitute of Management Studies, HP University, 2003
  • Bachelor of ScienceGovernment College Sanjauli, Shimla, 2001

Want the full CV or a conversation?

Email me