MAM
Eye on inclusivity, Havas India bats for ‘Women Who Inspire’
MUMBAI: It is a truth universally acknowledged that women face more challenges in the workplace than members of the opposite sex. Even as more and more women join the workforce, there are still many obstacles for them to overcome, be it in terms of equal pay, career opportunities, harassment or work-life balance. With this thought looming large, Havas has started ‘Women Who Inspire’ – an initiative to foster gender diversity and women leadership.
Ultimately, the goal is to bring about a cultural transformation and mindset shift that will help build a diverse and strong workforce that is futuristic and encourages many more women leaders in the group. A core group has been formed which consists of members in senior roles, across all our six agencies, who are in a position to influence, inspire, and mentor the next rung of leadership. This core team meets every alternate month to discuss key issues, opportunities, and changes relevant for the group as a whole and works towards recognising and celebrating the great work that women leaders do across the group.
The initiative has been devised with four key objectives in mind: mentoring high-potential women leaders; promoting the exchange of ideas and networking opportunities; enhancing the growth of women staffers as leaders and decision-makers; and creating the right environment that allows development and growth opportunities.
Havas Group India CEO Rana Barua said, “Being diverse is all about enabling a culture that is conducive to freely express, share thoughts and perspectives. As we embark on this journey, we are excited about the potential cultural and mindset change that it can bring to the lives of women employees within Havas Group India. We see this as a step to bring about a huge transformation and one that will help us move in the direction of building a versatile workforce that is futuristic and aligned to the changing global world order and economy.”
Havas Group CHRO Vandana Tilwani who is leading this initiative added, “As we gear up for our next phase of (post-Covid) growth at Havas, we have to adapt to a different way of working which involves merging of work and life, remote working and adapting to agile and flexible team structures. Becoming a gender-diverse organization, breaking of many fixed rules and taboos and thus encouraging more women leaders is not only important in creating a futuristic workplace, it is now a necessity in order to have a competitive advantage.”
Members of the core committee:
Havas Group India CEO Rana Barua
Havas Group India CHRO Vandana Tilwani
Havas Media Group India CEO Mohit Joshi
Havas Life Sorento managing partner Susan Josi
Think Design co-founder and design director Deepali Saini
Havas Group India director marketing and communications Priyanka Mehra
Havas Group India general manager HR Toral Shah
Havas Media head – west Sanchita Roy
Havas Creative SVP – client servicing Geetika Thakur
Havas Life Sorento Sr Manager Scientific Communications Rasika Bhat
Shobiz creative director Sreyashi Datta
Langoor Havas head HR Pavithra Eshwar
Brands
Faber-Castell India appoints Sunaina Haldar as director – marketing
With stints at Tata, SleepyCat and ADF Foods under her belt, Haldar is primed to redraw Faber-Castell’s brand story
MUMBAI: Faber-Castell India has poached Sunaina Haldar from ADF Foods, appointing her director – marketing as the German stationery brand looks to muscle up in a category that is rapidly reinventing itself around creativity and self-expression.
Haldar hit the ground running. “My first couple of weeks have been incredibly energising, understanding consumers, visiting markets, engaging with retailers and immersing myself into the world of Faber-Castell Group,” she said.
She arrives with considerable firepower. At ADF Foods, Haldar ran marketing across India and international markets for a portfolio spanning Ashoka, Aeroplane, Camel and ADF Soul. Before that, she was vice-president – marketing at direct-to-consumer mattress brand SleepyCat, where she helmed brand, content and performance marketing. Her résumé also includes a stint leading marketing, new product development and CRM for Tata SmartFoodz at Tata Consumer Products, no small proving ground.
Between corporate roles, Haldar also operated as a fractional CMO for early-stage startups, building marketing strategy and operational structures from scratch, a signal that she knows how to move fast with limited resources.
With 18 years straddling FMCG, D2C and the startup world, Haldar now takes the reins at a brand that has long owned the classroom but is clearly hungry for the living room. In a stationery market where the pencil has become a lifestyle statement, Faber-Castell has picked someone who knows exactly how to sell that story.
