Digitas India appoints Sonia Khurana as COO

Digitas India has announced the appointment of Sonia Khurana as Chief Operating Officer. A consummate marketer and strategic consultant specializing in customer experience, customer engagement, data-driven marketing and digital marketing, Sonia’s mandate would be to leverage Digitas’ strong position in India and provide strategy and direction in making it India’s leading digital marketing agency.

Sonia joins the agency from Ogilvy India where she was Senior VP & Head of Customer Engagement. She will report into Amaresh Godbole, CEO, Digitas India.

Commenting on her appointment, Amaresh Godbole, CEO, Digitas India said: “Digitas India has been on the fast track for the last decade, and today we’re 450 plus experts partnering top-notch clients. To keep up with this growth trajectory, we need more leaders who are adept at solving business problems through modern marketing practices. Sonia is just that, a true T-shaped personality who has run digital businesses as well as capabilities such as CX and CRM. Further, she understands how to tackle the challenges of integration. It’s what we need to drive our next phase of growth as the premier connected marketing agency, and as a partner in Publicis Groupe’s Power of One Solutions.”

Sonia is an accomplished marketing veteran with experience of over two decades in key roles across prominent agencies in the advertising industry. She has been instrumental in shaping up business and strategy for the agencies and has handled clients across retail, hospitality, telecom, technology, automotive, travel & tourism, and more. Some of the clients include Aditya Birla Group, Vodafone, IBM, BMW, Microsoft, Nokia, and Diageo.

Much of her professional life has been spent at Ogilvy India where she worked for almost a decade in its Bangalore and Mumbai offices. While at Ogilvy, she was instrumental in setting up OgilvyOne (the digital unit of Ogilvy) in Bangalore. She also conceptualized and created India's first retail social CRM program for Elle Fashionwear. Prior to Ogilvy, she was at Wunderman International as the India Lead for Nokia.

Sharing her views on joining the agency, Sonia Khurana said: “I'm very excited to be part of a young, energetic team whose focus is at the nexus of creativity, data, technology and media. On my first day at work, I saw the Publicis Groupe's Power of One strategy in action. It made me realize that I haven't just joined the agency brand but that I am part of the enriching Groupe ecosystem committed to delivering truly integrated, client-focused solutions.”