Share Via: A chat with the newly appointed MD over her game plan, present challenges in the marketing landscape and the agency's positioning When brands put people first and attempt big things, they fuel culture and innovation, help companies grow and create real value; but they need to take risks. That's where Essence, GroupM's global data and measurement-driven agency rooted in data science, comes in to help brands take decisions and risks. And, that's how Sonali Malaviya, the agency's newly appointed managing director (in May) for India plans to spearhead it. Malaviya replaced Anand Chakravarthy, who has moved on to pursue entrepreneurship. Based in Gurgaon, she reports to Essence APAC CEO T. Gangadhar and GroupM South Asia CEO Prasanth Kumar.