Former director of strategy at Interbrands will be managing entertainment media brand consultancy and marketing innovations agency’s strategy group.
LOS ANGELES -- Entertainment media brand consultancy and marketing innovations agency Troika has announced the hire of Smruti Shah as Head of Strategy. Shah will report to Dan Pappalardo, Founder and CEO. Smruti will be responsible for the leadership and development of the agency’s growing strategic practice.
Smruti has an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and experience as the former Director of Strategy at Interbrands. She will be focused on developing brand and marketing strategies that meet the complex business needs and opportunities of their clients. Smruti will be managing Troika’s strategy group and partnering with the agency’s Research and Insights group headed by anthropologist Susan Kresnicka, six industry-leading creative directors, and accounts team.
“While disruption is wreaking havoc on media businesses, there has never been more opportunity for media brands, or for that matter, any brand, dedicated to building audiences and fans,” commented Pappalardo. “Smruti and her team bridge both sides of brand strategy; driving business value and developing effective creative execution. The strategy team will be working closely with clients to surface and capitalize on business opportunities for brands in today’s changing media landscape.”
Smruti will be working from both Los Angeles and NYC, acting as a strategic client advisor on key brand and marketing initiatives including brand positioning, messaging, naming, architecture, media portfolio management, employee activation, and go-to-market strategies.
While at Interbrand, Smruti lead cross-functional teams on key brand and marketing projects within a variety of categories, including media, consumer technology, luxury, retail, travel, financial services, industrials and not-for-profit. She cultivated a dedication to inspiring change and driving results for clients. Smruti further developed a global perspective as the Head of Strategy for Interbrand’s South African office where she navigated unique business and brand challenges and strengthened Interbrand’s strategic offering in the African market.
Prior to joining Interbrand, Smruti was Senior Program Manager at Wolff Olins where she managed multidisciplinary teams while owning key client relationships. She was instrumental in coordinating the creative development of Target’s Up&Up private label brand.
Her client experience over the past decade includes: GE, Microsoft, Univision, Girl Scouts, Target, HP, and Tourneau. In addition to her MBA, Smruti received a BA from the University of Pennsylvania.
Source: Troika
