Simrita S Dillon: Miami-based brand consultant building bridges between brands and markets

(Sep 26, 2026) Simrita S Dillon is the founder of SANDA Brands, which helps international brands enter new markets and scale their businesses. An alumna of SDA Bocconi School of Management in Milan, Italy, where she pursued an MBA in Luxury Brand Management, her career has taken her across India, Italy, New Zealand and the US, giving her a distinctly global perspective on business, fashion and consumer markets.

Born in Patiala, Punjab, Simrita grew up travelling internationally with her parents. Her father was a pilot in the Indian Air Force.

“I started travelling internationally with my parents at 13. My first trip was to Paris, France, and since then, I have had a penchant for a global worldview and travel. My parents prioritised learning through travel, and we visited new countries every year,” she recalls in a chat with The Global Indian.

Through AIESEC, an international organisation that facilitates work and exchange opportunities for young people, she secured a four-month internship with Audit New Zealand in Wellington. The experience helped her mature quickly and become independent.

“After that, I decided I wanted to work in fashion, so I came back to Mumbai and started learning Italian. I then went to Italy and did my master’s at SDA Bocconi in Milan, the fashion capital of the world. I dreamt of working in fashion for an Italian fashion house, and my dream came true when I was offered a full-time position with Ermenegildo Zegna,” she says.

Learning across cultures

Her experiences across countries and cultures played an important role in shaping her persona.

I love diversity and making friends from different countries and cultures. While doing my MBA, we were from 42 different nationalities. It was a mini United Nations. So, for me, taking my love for the international world and creating a business in international trade is exactly my wheelhouse. I thrive in an international milieu.

Simrita S Dillon

Bringing Italian luxury to India

After starting her journey at Ermenegildo Zegna in Milan, Italy, where she trained for three months at its global headquarters, she got the opportunity to launch the brand in Mumbai by setting up a retail store. Simrita says she became one of India’s first luxury goods managers.

I dressed President Clinton in the Zegna Guru Suit on his trip to India, as well as Sabeer Bhatia, the founder of Hotmail, among others. I then represented Marvin Traub, the former chairman of Bloomingdale’s, and we worked with iconic American brands for the Indian market.

Simrita S Dillon

From luxury retail to entrepreneurship

Simultaneously, she and her brother created a fashion brand, GOLMAAL, in Mumbai, with a retail presence, a manufacturing facility and a design studio. The collections were contemporary, incorporating Indian fabrics and the strong tailoring tradition she had learnt at Zegna.

“GOLMAAL garnered a true fan following. We dressed fashionistas, creative writers, actors, singers, fashion writers and newscasters. I created over 5,000 commercial designs for the brand as the creative director,” she recalls.

The entrepreneurial experience also brought a different set of challenges. She often found that she was not taken seriously. As she represented Zegna in her twenties, she was often dismissed as a pretty face and given softer tasks.

“I earned my seat at the table with tenacity and grit. Besides, as an entrepreneur, when I started GOLMAAL, that was extremely challenging too. I would spend most of my days in my studio and my store, and it was isolating. I realised at some point that I was not growing as a person because I was the smartest in the room, so I dedicated myself to changing the room,” she remarks.

Turning India expertise into a global business

The idea for SANDA Brands was seeded when she met Marvin Traub, the former chairman and CEO of Bloomingdale’s and a prominent American retail executive.

“International brands were daunted by the idea of setting foot in India because they had heard about the complexity. So, I decided to create a service offering based on my experience at Zegna and as a brand founder at GOLMAAL. I had the know-how and the relationships with retailers in India,” she says. “My first client was the Maesa Group from New York. We launched Flower Beauty by Drew Barrymore,” she says. “Since then, we’ve partnered with more than 37 brands, bringing in more than $100 million in retail sales.”

Another milestone came when Simrita was nominated by the US Consulate in Mumbai for the Fortune-US State Department mentorship programme and paired with Sara Blakely, one of the world’s first self-made billionaires. She went on to spend time in Washington, Atlanta and New York.

The experience added another dimension to her international network and entrepreneurial journey.

Earning a seat at the table

Simrita believes that it can be extremely hard to be a woman in business, particularly when one is ambitious and driven. “I think people get intimidated somehow by these qualities, and more so when working in fashion. People don’t realise that global fashion brands run just like any global company, with discipline, rigour, planning and seamless execution,” she adds.

Her advice to young people is “to do what you love and you will not work a day in your life. I love what I do and that’s why I have so much passion and natural inclination towards my work. Another piece of advice is, don’t chase money. If you become a master at what you do, money will follow,” she says.

Giving back through education

Beyond her work, Simrita is passionate about education and believes in creating greater opportunities for young people, particularly girls.

“Education is the silver bullet which gives opportunities,” says Simrita, who serves on the advisory board of the Women’s Education Project, a New York-based nonprofit whose work focuses on India. “We have leadership academies for underserved communities and support teenage girls. They meet other like-minded friends, create a sisterhood and develop skills for life,” she says.

Looking ahead

Looking ahead, Simrita S. Dillon plans to expand SANDA Agency’s presence in the US market and India.

“We represent some of the world’s fast-growing beauty brands and make them international success stories. Beauty and wellness are going to be a major category in the next 10 years, and we are excited about what the future holds for us. We are just getting started,” she signs off.

• Follow Simrita S Dillon on LinkedIn

ALSO READ: Achala Chandra Shekar: From luxury management in Monaco to bridging Indian craft and global buyers