PERSONAL BACKGROUD

I come from humble beginnings and some of my most valuable lessons, attributes and insight are a direct result of how I have been raised. I have been taught from a very young age to work hard, dream big, be kind and compassionate to others.

I am an influence and social marketer and my work and research is focused on the shifts in technology; how it will and is impacting how we interact and communicate with one another. I believe that old school marketing of print advertising and general campaigns are no longer sustainable. The surge of information and the digital space has given rise to new mediums of communication. We are interacting differently; creating online communities, we are referral based buyers; we have greater access to information and influencers with a shift of power from businesses to consumers. What is the impact of this, how do we make sense of it in a meaningful way, what trends can we predict and how will this impact the role of marketers in the next 5 to 10 years? This is what I do.

I have always had an entrepreneurial spirit inside of me. I am always generating new ideas, new ways of doing things, new concepts. I have for the past 2 decades been an Intrapreneur, that is an entrepreneur inside an organization focusing on innovation and creativity that transform an idea into action. I am so passionate about this topic that I have dedicated my doctorate to work to research this topic and how organizations can embrace and realize the need for the Intrapreneur.

BUSINESS SUCCESS

Anand is Head of Public Relations for Microsoft Canada, where she creates stories and experiences by engaging with key influencers, media, and in the digital space. Projects she has guided there have been awarded IABC Gold Quill Awards and Canadian Public Relations Society Awards of Excellence. Prior to Microsoft, she was Director of Marketing at TELUS Corp. She joined the company at its critical transformational stage from being a traditional Telco to a sophisticated ICT. During her tenure there, she led some of the sexiest award-winning brand, social media, and sponsorship campaigns that received rave reviews and massive media attention. Thanks to her leadership, TELUS was also awarded the ‚Corporate IT Hero‚ award by the Information Technology Association of Canada for developing Upopolis, an online social networking application for sick children, and was recognized by Business for the Arts for the exceptional effectiveness of its partnerships with arts organizations including Luminato, the Royal Conservatory of Music, Soulpepper, and the National Ballet School.

MARKETING INNOVATION

Chitra has been at the forefront of the transformation of TELUS corp from a Telco to an ICT and founded many marketing initiatives that still now live. She has brought the surface 2 into the Canadian Marketplace via strategic campaigns. She has also launched the Xbox one into the Canadian Marketplace. Both Campaigns have won Industry awards this past year.

ACCOLADES OR ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Projects she has guided there have been awarded IABC Gold Quill Awards and Canadian Public Relations Society Awards of Excellence. Prior to Microsoft, she was Director of Marketing at TELUS Corp. She joined the company at its critical transformational stage from being a traditional Telco to a sophisticated ICT. During her tenure there, she led some of the sexiest award-winning brand, social media, and sponsorship campaigns that received rave reviews and massive media attention. Thanks to her leadership, TELUS was also awarded the “Corporate IT Hero” award by the Information Technology Association of Canada for developing Upopolis, an online social networking application for sick children, and was recognized by Business for the Arts for the exceptional effectiveness of its partnerships with arts organizations including Luminato, the Royal Conservatory of Music, Soulpepper, and the National Ballet School.

PHILANTHROPY

Chitra has been a mentor the kids now program assisting children around skill development, she has been the force behind a social network program called Upopolois for children in hospitals which is now deployed in all children hospitals across the country.

RELEVANT INFO

• Chitra is an exclusive speaker with the Lavin agency –
• She has taught several courses at Humber college
• She is pursuing her Phd on a concept called Intrapreneurship
• She is an amateur athlete which is her passion
• Chitra has been featured as a Woman of Influence and has been asked to speak on many panels through WXN and ITAC