46: Finding your voice and identity with Chandana Agarwal

My guest on the 46th episode of The Elephant in the Room podcast this week is Chandana Agarwal, President North, 82.5, Ogilvy Group, India. With over 2 decades in advertising she has helped launch and build brands in India that have been appreciated globally and have gone up to win international Creative and Effectiveness awards. In this episode we talk about her growing up as a girl in Hyderabad; her lived experiences; her journey into advertising 👉🏾 Surviving/thriving in agency culture; fitting in and being more 'man than a man' 👉🏾 Unpacking what it means to be a single woman in India; shifting the victim mindset 👉🏾 Norms of beauty, a legacy of India's colonial past 👉🏾 Setting up the Marigold Society for Performing Arts, how it anchors her sense of femininity, beauty, giving her a voice and an identity beyond work 👉🏾 Setting up Subah, an initiative to support women who have lost their husbands or partners in the pandemic 👉🏾 The people who inspire her and being her own favourite person. Thank you Chandana for sharing your time, for being driven by your dreams and passions.