At a Glance
|
Shweta Berry, Head of Strategic Alliances – Industry & Academia, Marcom and CSR at Aeris Communications India Pvt. Ltd
Thought Leader Interview
Thinkers360 thought leader interviews profile prominent members of the Thinkers360 community who embody the power of ideas in their work. In this edition, we speak with Shweta Berry, Director Marketing & Head of Strategic Alliances- Industry & Academia, Marcom, Sales Enablement and CSR Divisions at Aeris Communications India Pvt. Ltd. An award winning, skilled B2B marketeer, Shweta is a specialist in IoT & Emerging Technologies Marketing, Communications,as well as a Content Strategist. She works closely with C-Suite in designing & implementing the integrated marketing, communications and business enablement strategy for India, SAARC, MEA & APAC.
Shweta is recipient of multiple awards and recognition in Marketing, IT and CSR space. Some of her most recent key marketing awards include, the Outstanding Achievement in B2B & Technology Marketing, 7th Edition, of the World Leadership & World Marketing Congress, Feb’21; Technology Marketing Specialist Year 2020 Award in the IoT Innovation category at the National Awards Platform, India; Women Leadership Award For Excellence in the Information Technology Sector at the 7th World Women Leadership Congress, 2020; Women Super Achiever Award For Excellence In MARCOM at the 6th World Women Leadership Congress Awards 2019. Her work in the field of CSR has also been applauded. She is recognized as one among the 5 Global CSR Champions 2021 at the 10th Edition of World CSR Congress; ET NOW 101 Fabulous Global CSR Leaders at WORLD CSR DAY CONGRESS 2020; and has been recognized twice by CSR World Congress as 1 among 100 Most Impactful CSR Leaders (Global Listing) in 2019 & 2017.
Shweta has been featured in the Thinkers360 Top 50 Global & Influencers on IoT, Sustainability, CSR, Smart Cities and Emerging Technology, Privacy, GovTech leaderboards and also recently featured in the Thinkers360 article 150 Women B2B Thought Leaders You Should Follow in 2021.
Brands: Sign-up to find and work with experts in your niche and to showcase your own executives, thought leaders and content among our opt-in community with over 100M followers on social media combined!
Thinkers360: Tell us a bit about your background and areas of expertise
SB: I am a specialist in Enterprise Technologies Marketing, Communications, Brand Development, B2B Sales Enablement, Influencer, Digital Marketing & a Content Strategist. Over the span of 21 years, I have been fortunate to work closely with C-Suite Executives and Think Tanks on diverse portfolios with multiple MNC’s, mid-tier & start-ups covering India, SAARC, APAC, Middle East and African regions. I have had on-job experience in the field of teaching technology to software development, presales, to IT solutions portfolio management, to strategic marketing with sales enablement & lead generation, branding, public relations, corporate communications, and integrated marketing with a blend of traditional and digital marketing all woven into the areas of my expertise.
Interestingly, I did not kickstart my career as a pure marketing and communications specialist. While I am a post-graduate in Arts from University of Delhi and a GNIIT’ian, my journey into the corporate world commenced with teaching software technologies in 1999. At work, I kept exploring new opportunities with challenging assignments which were not always part of my KRAs and became part of the strategic projects. Keeping up with the latest developments and not being shy of going back to school for learning new skills is a personal goal. That’s why after about 3 years in the industry, I went back to academia for getting a degree in MBA with major in Marketing & IT Technology from IILM, New Delhi followed by the Post Graduated Certificate in International Business from Grenoble Ecole de Management, Grenoble, France. This helped me to switch my work profile from being a techie to a marketing expert. In 2019, I went back to school again, and this time to IIM-Calcutta for an Executive Program in Digital Marketing and Social Media Strategy for not only honing my digital marketing skills, but to learn with tech savvy, young minds.
Thinkers360: What are your current responsibilities and what’s a typical day look like?
SB: I’m currently working with Aeris Communications as Director Marketing and Head of Strategic Alliances with Industry Associations and Academic Institutions, Marketing & Communications, Public Relations, Sales Enablement through Inside Sales and Digital Media, and Corporate Social Responsibility functions for India, SAARC & MEA regions.
With such a diverse portfolio, there is never a dull moment in my life! Due to the recurring waves of the pandemic, WFH has become our ‘New Normal’. Given the nature of work, usually I spend long hours at work. Hence, in order to keep myself active both mentally and physically, I typically start my day early in the morning with Pranayama, yoga followed by spending at least 30 minutes with plants in my little garden. I also try to find a little ‘me-time’ for meditation or a walk in the evening.
The work hour starts with sync-up calls with the leadership, strategic partners, PR firm and internal teams. Anything from strategizing for the next product launch, developing media outreach strategy, creating content for pitchbooks, board presentations, to positioning thought leaders at national and international industry platforms, to writing articles, speaking in a webinar on sales & marketing/ taking online guest lectures on advanced technologies at academic institutions, or training inside sales team on GTM for a new offering, or negotiating time and commercials on deliverables with external agencies and vendors, to collaborating with an NGO for bringing a positive social impact using our connected technology can become the highlight of a regular working day!
I believe the joy of living a blissful life is in giving back. I’m corporate mentor to 6 business graduates from New Delhi Institute of Management, New Delhi since 2017. Once a month, we spend 90 minutes together exchanging ideas and sharing knowledge. In addition, over the weekends, I make time to engage with a couple of young entrepreneurs and not-for-profit organisations for advisory on GTM strategy, strategic marketing, funding and more. And when I’m not doing any of that, I’m catching up with my friends or out with my DSLR, exploring a new place, food joint or simply a new genre in photography.
Thinkers360: What’s the favorite part of your current role?
SB: I love the challenge each day brings as it’s never the same one! The diversity of my portfolio allows me to meet, greet and work closely with a variety of people from different industries and backgrounds. I do lot of collaboration and networking with leaders from different organisations and geographies which indeed is a blessing! It brings so much value from professional to personal life with the depth of interactions, different styles of management and approaches shaped due to cultural diversity, and, I simply enjoy the magnitude of exposure, learning through exchange of ideas and friendships this job brings to my table
Thinkers360: How do you utilize Thinkers360?
SB: Thinkers360 has been my Holy Grail of networking and collaboration! And it’s quite an effective engagement forum due to the fine quality of thought leaders it brings onto a single platform, all from relevant fields. What I like the most about this platform is its quickness in adopting the latest trends, including new areas and technologies in its global listings and a fair and transparent ranking system.
Editor’s Note: See Shweta’s Thinkers360 In-Depth Profile & Portfolio.
Thinkers360: How do you like to work with brands who wish to engage you as a thought leader?
SB: It would be a pleasure to engage with brands on shared interest and domains at a global level. I am open to work as an advisor on digital strategy, branding, strategic GTM, marketing and communications, increasing media outreach, social media strategy to execution, sales enablement, guest lectures and speaking opportunities on marketing, alliances & advanced technologies, mentoring and building a personal brand. Interested brands and NGOs can reach me on LinkedIn at ‘Shweta Berry’ or through Thinkers360.
Thinkers360: What’s your main advice for upcoming thought leaders?
SB: This generation of young think tanks are blessed to have so many resources and digitally connected platforms with tuned-in audience right from the beginning of their thought leadership journey. My advice to all the young thought leaders having pure passion for continuous learning, sharing and bringing value to the whole ecosystem, would be to start making the most of these platforms by actively participating, consistently contributing and collaborating meaningfully in the areas of their interest. Investing in self for mental and physical well-being, keeping an open mind, enriching knowledge by gaining subject matter expertise in not just one core area, but, multiple areas as one progresses in career, and, being a student for life will open a world of opportunities to explore and succeed. Good luck, rise and shine!
###
Join us on Thinkers360!
Thinkers360 is the world’s first, largest and premier B2B thought leader and influencer marketplace — including academics, analysts, authors, consultants, influencers and speakers — with over 100M followers on social media combined. We are differentiated by our unique patent-pending algorithms that measure thought leadership and authentic influence looking far beyond social media alone.
Individuals: Connect and work with global brands as an author, influencer, speaker and more. Showcase your thought leadership profile and portfolio, build your media kit, and participate in our global leaderboards and opportunity marketplace: Sign-Up (free) | Newsletter
Enterprise (including brands & agencies): For brand, influencer, content marketing and speaker bureau services – working with our network of premier opt-in influencers with 100M+ followers on social media – or to showcase your own corporate executives, thought leaders and content: Request an Enterprise Consultation | Explainer Video | Newsletter
Want to discover and work with authors, influencers and speakers (including access to our unique thought leader profiles, portfolios, media kits, in-depth reports and analytics, personal introductions, and our zero-transaction fee speaker bureau)?
Contact us to discuss any of your thought leadership and B2B influencer marketing needs at info@thinkers360.com
For custom influencer lists, advertising and leaderboard sponsorship opportunities, please contact info@thinkers360.com.
