Mumbai, India – Dentsu’s media agency Carat in India has appointed Sayami Podder as its new associate vice president for strategy, where she will be responsible for spearheading strategic thinking for the agency. In addition, she will also offer insights to the existing agency clients across the West and South regions in India.

She will be reporting to Anita Kotwani, CEO at Carat India.

With more than 12 years of experience, Sayami is specialised in brand, media & communication strategy, consumer research and market mix modelling. She has worked across a wide range of categories including FMCG, beverages, fashion, BFSI, e-commerce and manufacturing.

She was previously with Mindshare India, where she led strategy for brands like Ultratech Cement, Castrol, SBI Life, ICICI and Kellogg’s. She has also worked with significant retail brands like Pantaloons & Max Fashion and new-age brands like Upstox, Byju’s and TCS Ion, to name a few.

Speaking on her appointment, she said, “The consumer journey is no longer linear, and the media ecosystem is constantly evolving to accommodate our new age audience. Carat is already known for its strategic thinking and integrated approach. With my expertise in data science and creative thinking, I am looking forward to building an insight-led strategy that will generate incremental and sustainable growth for our clients. I am delighted to begin this new journey under Anita’s dynamic leadership and contribute to Carat’s growth story for India.”

Meanwhile, Kotwani commented, “Talent today is the key differentiator that clients look for. Our core focus is to always ensure that we have the best talent that comes on board and joins the Carat family. Sayami’s diverse expertise across data & analytics, research, communication planning and media strategy, is certainly something that will drive growth for the clients. We see her as the ideal team player to lead Carat’s vision of ‘Designing for People’ in the West and South markets.”