B V Mallikarjuna Rao, Senior Director, Xiaomi, moved to the role of Head – Online Sales for Xiaomi across all categories and for the POCO brand across all channels, marking a significant leadership transition within Xiaomi India. This move follows a highly impactful tenure where he played a central role in strengthening Xiaomi’s market position through focused channel leadership and execution excellence.
Prior to this appointment, B V Mallikarjuna Rao served as Head of Channels (Head of Offline Sales) at Xiaomi, where he led a notable turnaround of the brand’s offline business. Under his leadership, Xiaomi’s offline ecosystem witnessed renewed momentum driven by transparent partner policies, technology-led execution, and deep collaboration with retail and distribution partners. His efforts were instrumental in steering Xiaomi’s offline resurgence and reinforcing trust across the channel network.
During this phase, B V Mallikarjuna Rao transformed Xiaomi’s channel operations into a resilient, growth-focused engine, while simultaneously nurturing a high-performance team culture. His leadership demonstrated a strong ability to balance strategic clarity with on-ground execution across diverse markets and partner ecosystems.
Before joining Xiaomi, B V Mallikarjuna Rao held senior leadership roles across leading global and Indian organisations. At Lenovo & Motorola Smartphones, he served as National Sales Head. He also worked at Tata Docomo, where his last role was Head – 3G, followed by Head – Modern Trade and Zonal Head (ZH). His earlier career also includes experience as Area Sales Manager at Nokia, further strengthening his deep understanding of sales, distribution, and large-scale channel management.
In his role as Senior Director, Head – Online Sales at Xiaomi and POCO, B V Mallikarjuna Rao is expected to leverage his extensive offline expertise to further accelerate online growth, strengthen omnichannel synergies, and drive sustainable scale across categories and platforms. His move reflects Xiaomi’s continued focus on leadership continuity, operational excellence, and long-term growth across channels.