Augmented reality firm Blippar ropes in Nestle executive Doreswamy Nandkishore as non-executive board member

Blippar, an augmented reality and image-recognition platform with presence in Delhi, has roped in India-born senior Nestle executive Doreswamy Nandkishore as its first external non-executive board member.

Nandkishore will take on an advisory role at the UK-based company and contribute towards Blippar's branding and marketing strategies, Blippar said in a press statement. "As we strive to become experts at digital brand and marketing strategy for our clients, no one has been more successful at fostering and growing brand talent than Nandu," said Ambarish Mitra, Blippar's India-origin CEO and co-founder. Prior to starting Blippar, Mitra worked with AXA Insurance, Swiftcover and other firms.

The 57-year old Nandkishore served as executive vice president of Zone Asia, Oceania and Africa at Nestlé S.A. until May 1. An alumnus of IIM Ahmedabad and IIT Delhi, he has over three decades of experience in consumer packaged goods across both emerging and developed markets.

"With personalised augmented reality technology, Blippar provides consumers the ability to draw great content and engaging brand experiences directly from their favorite products," said Nandkishore.

Blippar, which was established in 2011, develops mobile augmented reality and image recognition platform and applications. Its application is used to recognise images in newspapers, magazines, products, and posters.

The startup, which has recently raised $45 million (Rs 285 crore) investment from Qualcomm Ventures and Lansdowne Partners, was founded by Mitra, Omar Tayeb, Steve Spencer, and Jess Butcher. It started India operations in October last year. The company also has offices in Amsterdam, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Delhi, Istanbul and Tokyo.

Blippar counts brands such as Nestlé, Condé Nast, TIME Inc., Procter & Gamble, Kraft, Heinz, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Anheuser Busch, and Jaguar as clients.