William Penn, India’s leading brand for premium writing instruments and lifestyle accessories, has appointed Gokulnath Subramanian as its chief business officer. 

He will be responsible for driving business growth and delivering scale at William Penn. 

Subramanian has over a decade of rich experience in leadership roles, including head – strategic partnerships, Udaan, brand head – Mebaz, and retail head – Creyate, Arvind td. 

“His vision for William Penn is to create a multi-channel house of brands for accessories as well as develop in-house brands,” the company said in a statement.

“We are delighted to welcome Gokulnath Subramanian to the leadership team. With his remarkable experience and our aligned vision, I’m confident that William Penn will scale new heights. As we celebrate 20 years of embarking on the journey to becoming India’s premier destination for fine writing instruments and lifestyle accessories, we are all set to expand our world-class product portfolio across markets to deliver memorable customer experiences,” said Nikhil Ranjan, MD, William Penn.

“There’s tremendous potential for this exceptional company to not only continue its stellar evolution, but also to create greater value in consumers’ lives. I look forward to working with the team to meet the company vision of bringing the world’s finest writing instruments and lifestyle accessories to India,” added Subramanian, a gold medallist, with an MBA in Retail from Birla Institute of Management Technology, Greater Noida. 

The Bengaluru-based company has been instrumental in bringing some of the most renowned international brands, such as Montblanc, Cross, Sheaffer, Pelikan and Sailor, to name a few, under one roof, for the Indian customer.

Earlier this year, William Penn acquired Sheaffer, the 110-year-old iconic American pen company and has taken over Sheaffer’s manufacturing, marketing and retailing in over 70 countries.