Micromax ropes in DoneByNone co-founder Amarinder Dhaliwal as COO of its new sub-brand 'YU'

Home grown handset and tablet manufacturer Micromax has appointed Amarinder S Dhaliwal as the chief operating officer (COO) of its new sub-brand 'YU'. In his new role, Dhaliwal will work closely with Rahul Sharma, co-founder Micromax, to build a digital brand that engages directly with the user community. He will also lead marketing initiatives for building the brand, drive revenue from product & services, and set-up internet operations for it.

Commenting on the appointment, Sharma said, "With YU, our aim is to reach out to a very unique set of audiences that include tech-enthusiasts, digital natives and the developer ecosystem. Dhaliwal brings a unique combination of expertise with his entrepreneurial and leadership roles in internet and e-commerce space."

Dhaliwal has close to 20 years of work experience across internet and e-commerce space, media businesses, as well as investment banking. Prior to Micromax, he co-founded and was serving as the CEO of Private label e-tailer DoneByNone.com. Before that, he was the VP of Zigwheels.com and Indiatimes Shopping at Times Internet Ltd, the digital arm of BCCL (parent of The Times of India and a host of other news properties).

He had earlier also worked at World Wide Media (a wholly owned subsidiary of BCCL), SBI Capital Markets, and Powergen Plc. An IIM-Ahmedabad alumnus, Dhaliwal also holds a B.Tech degree in Textile Technology from IIT-Delhi.

"I am very excited with the opportunity to build YU as the first global internet and technology brand originating from India. We are building a brand where the user has the power to co-create and make things happen their way. We will build an ecosystem of connected devices thereby creating a new age internet brand," said Dhaliwal.

Last week, Micromax entered into a strategic partnership with Cyanogen Inc., the makers of the Cyanogen mobile operating system, to launch a new sub brand called 'YU'. According to Micromax, the brand will focus on working with various companies to build a layer of services into the operating system itself. The new brand will be led by Sharma.

The company has also set up YU Televentures, a wholly owned subsidiary of Micromax Informatics, to market the brand 'YU' through a 'direct-to-consumer' model. What this basically means is that the products will only be sold online. Companies like Motorola and Xiaomi follow the same model for selling their products in India, and have tasted success with the same.

The first device under the new brand will be announced in India next month. However, details like its pricing or specifications are not available as of now.