Sarita Bahl ponders her career and social connection in 2021

A certified coach, Sarita Bahl is an alumnus of Tata Institute of Social Sciences and the Swedish Institute of Management Program. She leads the Corporate Societal Engagement function for Bayer South Asia and is also the Director of Bayer Foundation India.

An experienced and versatile leader, she has over the years successfully overseen the communications and public affairs function for Bayer South Asia, Pfizer, and Monsanto, among others. I spoke with Sarita about her career and most recent projects.

Sarita began by discussing herself, who she is, and her most recent happenings: “I am a certified coach. Professionally I head the Corporate Societal Engagement function for Bayer South Asia and am also the Director of Bayer Foundation, India”

She went on to discuss how she has adapted to coronavirus, and how she has grown to accept remote working:
“To be honest, I have fallen in love with work from home. I never imagined I would. It changed my perspective on just how much I could pack in the day and stretch myself. I do miss meeting my team in person. More significantly, I yearn for the nuances of nonverbal communications that lost their way in the virtual world. And I wish we all had access to the right information on the pandemic in the initial months – it was mayhem with fake news and rumors floating about”.

Career plans, and making a difference through social activity 

In terms of her future plans, Sarita hopes to continue her coaching journey and help as many people working on their career as possible: “I think the essence of whatever I do shall always remain the same – creating a difference and making an impact. I have already embarked on my coaching journey and I see myself evolving as a coach and supporting people in their journey”.

In terms of the event she is speaking at, Sarita provided insight into what she is going to discuss and what inspired her to get involved:

“I will be sharing insights from India regarding CSR. There is so much to learn from this region. After all India is the first country to implement a mandatory CSR Law in 2014. Having straddled both roles – that of a communicator and PR person and a Societal Impact practitioner, I was able to instantly relate to what the book aimed to convey”.

We spoke about the different influencers and websites that she follows in order to keep up with the latest developments in the industry and benefit her own career in the process.

“We are in the digital age, which means there’s so much good information out there and you can steer clear of fake news! Apart from reading industry news, I listen to podcasts and follow influencers such as Kara Swisher, who is behind the great podcast Pivot. Plus, there’s the Great Indian Marketing Show, Aadil Bandukwala, and Kaushik Satish who bring you stories and experiences of marketing leaders behind some of the most pioneering brands in the world”.

Before we finished, Sarita provided information in terms of how to get in touch with her and learn more about her career, whilst providing some wise words about social engagement:

“LinkedIn for me is a very powerful tool for communicating. I am also a prolific writer for one of India’s leading online PR & Comms magazines (www.reputationtoday.in) and my writings are available online. The lens on societal engagement programs is evolving with impact investments and assessments gaining prominence.

This is a function that all types of businesses need to think about and understand because genuine, authentic, and real programs have the power to complement business strategies and become powerful advocacy tools”.

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