Rathi Gangappa, Chief Executive Officer of Starcom India, is a distinguished leader who has steered the agency’s strategic transformation with clarity, resilience, and foresight. Since assuming leadership in 2018, she has redefined Starcom’s positioning from a traditional media agency to a future-ready, full-funnel communications powerhouse anchored in digital, data, and commerce. At the IMPACT 50 Most Influential Women 2025, she said, "this award goes to all the people at Starcom, they have done an incredible job at becoming the brand that it is today - the culture, the coming to work and the resilience that they bring to the table."
Under her stewardship, the agency has grown from 30 to over 250 professionals, delivering consistent double-digit growth and securing marquee clients including McDonald’s, Glenmark, Dabur Digital, Lego, Mars, and LinkedIn. A strong proponent of inclusive leadership, Gangappa has built a leadership structure with 50% women representation and institutionalised initiatives such as the YODA mentorship programme to strengthen succession pipelines.
In 2025, Starcom India was certified as a Great Place to Work with a 93% positive employee rating, a testament to her unwavering focus on culture, collaboration, and performance-driven excellence.
