Slow And Steady

It took 25 years at Grey for Yashaswini Samat to become the advertising agencys first female CEO. She tells Aabha Bakaya why she was lucky enough to get there at her own pace

Yashaswini Samat, or Yash as she is fondly called by those in the business, is the new woman in charge at Grey Group—in fact, she is the first woman CEO at the advertising giant. Samat started her career in the early ’90s and changed a bunch of jobs in the first few years before joining Grey, on the prestigious P&G account. Over the last 25 years, she’s been driving the brand account and overseeing it across APAC and globally, in markets including Malaysia, Singapore, UK, India and USA. After a stint in New York, Yash returned to India in 2014. Well-respected within the industry for her drive and incredible instinct, she acknowledges that the advertising game is changing, and keeping up with the dynamic market is a new challenge altogether. Here, she shares insights from her long, successful journey, even though she says the new generation is more financially secure, has more options, and a whole new set of priorities:

ELLE: You’ve spent 25 years at Grey, and you are the company’s first woman CEO. Why did it take so long?