Delhi, India – Global data and measurement-driven media agency Essence in India has appointed Sonali Malaviya, former senior vice president of client services for Essence’s Google business in INSEA, to be its new managing director for the India team.
Malaviya brings with her 20 years of industry experience. Prior to joining Essence in 2018, she has previously worked as the chief operating officer at beauty company Colorbar Cosmetics and the country marketing lead at Twitter India.
In addition, Malaviya has also held senior roles at various companies such as media companies Mindshare and PHD, market research firm Roy Morgan Research, and marketing agency MediaCom in India, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia.
In her new role, Malaviya will be responsible for leading Essence’s continued client-centric innovation in data, analytics, and technology, as well as business growth, and company culture for the agency in the market. She will be joining the agency’s APAC leadership team and GroupM India’s executive committee and will be reporting directly to Essence APAC’s CEO T. Gangadhar and GroupM South Asia’s CEO Prasanth Kumar.
Commenting on her appointment, Malaviya said that she is truly honored to have the opportunity to lead Essence in India, as over the past three years, she has witnessed the growth of the agency, clients, and employees.
“I am looking forward to partnering with our highly talented teams and leveraging our industry-leading capabilities to help even more brands in India achieve data-driven growth and transformation, as well as valuable connections with consumers,” added Malaviya.
Meanwhile, Gangadhar said, “India continues to be a priority for Essence in APAC and globally, and with Sonali at the helm, I am very excited about our next phase of growth and development in the market.”
Kumar also commented that with Malaviya’s background and significant achievements, she will add to the capabilities of the agency and work with the teams to improve the client experience.
“As we continue to develop leaders internally, Sonali is also part of our growing pool of talent taking on various leadership roles across GroupM India. I look forward to working with Sonali and leveraging her expertise,” said Kumar.
Just recently, Essence has also announced the launch of its new pro bono initiative ‘Essence Impact’, which aims to aid non-profit organizations in their digital transformation.
