Aditi Sen

I would say my success is not just mine - it's always teamwork, because in today's time, we don't work in silos. If there's been a campaign or a certain project that I've been working on or leading, it was not just me, it was the entire team who has supported. My success comes with the team that I work with, and I always make sure that everyone gets that recognition when we are at the end of the tunnel and getting credited for it. I believe in acknowledging the collective effort because that's what truly drives results.

The best career advice I've ever received is don't bring your work baggage home. I'm a very empathetic person, and I'm still trying to learn this - sometimes things happen at work and you bring them home. But it's about keeping the hunger alive, keeping learning, and remembering that there will be another day. If things break today, go back tomorrow with a fresh perspective and you'll find a solution. And if you're doing the right thing, just be confident about it. There have been times where I've been put on the spot, and I know what I did, so I stick to it. Being a woman, it's not easy - it's a man's world, it's dominated, the glass ceiling is there and it's pretty evident. But you need to put your foot down and just speak out for yourself, because nobody else will speak up for you.

Don't get scared of all the talk about AI coming to take away your work, especially in marketing. I will just say you have to stay abreast and you have to know the tools right now, because it's changing very fast. AI and agentic AI is coming, and new people in marketing are pretty confused about what to do. But these tools are there to empower us, not to be scared of them. So just learn and keep learning, and be on top of your A game. Use the tools to your success - they are going to be your co-workers, you are not going to be their co-worker. You have to be very nimble and agile and learn multiple things. You just cannot depend on being good at one thing like design or copywriting and stick to that. That wall is gone.

I would say the biggest opportunity in my field is that one person now has the capability to multitask at a completely different level with all the technology around you. Understanding marketing tech and all these funnels, driving awareness, and getting the attention of the audience - that's a huge opportunity. But that is also a challenge, because people are doomscrolling and they want to put away from the phone. So you need to understand your audience and put yourself out there in the right way at the right time, which has always been the basics. The challenge is also the learning curve - if you say you cannot do it, you're in trouble. For designers, it's a hard time because people are getting cut off. You don't need a designer to create content anymore if you're smart - you can go and do it on Canva. So you have to choose the right path for yourself and learn multiple things. You cannot just depend on being good at one thing.

I would say being ethical and honest - that's most important. I've never shied away from owning a mistake that I've done in the past, and I always believe in the system that mistakes are human. If I've done a mistake in my work, I don't shy from accepting it, and I reason out why that was done. I believe in the system, and we have always seen the light at the end of the tunnel from there on. My values are being ethical, being honest at your work, and being honest to yourself - this is what keeps me going. If I don't know something, I will say I don't know. But it doesn't stop there - the next thing is, show me how to do it. And if I've goofed up, I'll own it and say that was me.