SARITA NIRANJAN BHATT

Head of Digital Brand Experience

This year (2015), I packed up my born/raised east coast life and moved west to the Central Coast of California (Santa Barbara) to do the best work of my life as the Head of Digital Brand Experience at Sonos. Sonos created (and now leads) the smart home audio space. In my role here, I drive every aspect of the Sonos digital brand experience - from strategy to activation - across platforms (.com, social, crm, search, etc etc). 

Before I moved, I was an executive leader at Havas Worldwide,  Director of Global Strategy, where I worked with the network’s global clients on strategic and creative solutions, focusing on the challenges of digital and social marketing.

Before I moved to the Global team at Havas, I was the Managing Director of Social Platforms at Havas Worldwide New York, where I was charged with creating and overseeing a digital/social team and programs for the New York agency’s clients while also leading new business efforts within the digital and social space. I first joined Havas Worldwide three years ago as Director of Digital Planning for Tonic, the agency’s health and wellness consultancy.

I've has been working in the creative, technology and communications space for more than 15 years, focusing on developing innovative digital and social programs across verticals, including Consumer Electronics, Healthcare, B2B, CPG, Technology, Finance, and Tourism. I led the digital & social programs across all of the Hershey's Company brands, the Atlantic City Alliance, General Electric, Charles Schwab, Live Nation, Johnnie Walker, Glaxo Smith Kline, and Merck Consumer Care.  Prior to Havas Worldwide, I was an Associate Director of Digital Strategy at Ogilvy Health, where I created and led the strategy group for pharmaceutical clients including Boehringer Ingelheim, Pfizer/Wyeth, Johnson & Johnson, Dupont and Novartis. I also worked on the IBM, American Medical Association, and Unilever accounts. 

Previous to working at Ogilvy, I was a Manager in the Advertising Strategy and Planning department at the New York Times/NYTimes.com, where I was the lead strategist for the NYTimes.com Health section re-launch, Google AdSense for Newspaper program, and the development of the NYT mobile and video monetization strategies.  

And before capitalism took hold of me, I was a Civil Servant (Senior Telecommunication Policy Specialist) for the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Information and Technology Administration, Office of International Affairs. In this global role, I was the Chairwoman for the U.N. group on advanced networking technologies and a senior staffer for the Assistant Secretary of Commerce, driving policy decisions related to the Domain Name System, cybersecurity and global Internet access.

I dig school. As such, I have an Master's degree in Communications, Culture and Technology from Georgetown University and a B.S. in Communications Sciences from New York University. I also graduated from the Wharton Business School Havas Leadership Training Program. And I did have a certificate in Digital Film Production from New York Film Academy.

I know my hard work and strong family has afforded me amazing opportunities and I'm dedicated to paying it forward. I advise several NGOs such as Sustainable health Enterprises, Breakthrough and G.E.M.S. on how to use digital platforms for social good and co-founded the Global India Fund (a non-profit). I play the bass guitar (not as good as I once was), am a trained Indian classical dancer and an avid digital filmmaker.