In August this year, Ogilvy’s executive chairperson won the ‘Creative Agency Leader of the Year’ at IAA’s Leadership Awards.

In Manifest's October print issue, we caught up with Pathak to understand her first nine months in the elevated role, the agency’s performance at global award shows, and Emily in Paris, among other topics.

On the award, she said, "It is a great privilege to receive this recognition. I attribute this to the magic power of Ogilvy, the amazing brands and opportunities it has provided. The wonderful team and the campaigns created have generated impact for clients. We are as good as our clients and we are lucky to have so many who trust us, believe in us and give us a seat at the table to solve their problems and challenges. I don’t take this privilege lightly. I am a very ‘head-in-the-clouds, feet-on-ground’ person. That is my mantra. Like Indra Nooyi (former chairperson, PepsiCo) once said – I put my head, heart and hands into work. It is like being an executive chairperson and a junior executive at different points on the same day."

She also spoke about the industry's biggest challenge - talent.

Elaborating the same, she said, "As an industry, we have to make it exciting for young people. Somebody has built a negative narrative around it and we have not been able to sell it as an industry. For Gen Z, this is such an exciting career option. They want to do different things – what better place than advertising which offers different clients with different problems? We need to become a magnet for great talent. We have to help clients appreciate the value we bring to the table a little better. Sometimes that may not happen organically. The industry needs to work on these two issues."

Read our full chat with Pathak in the October issue of Manifest. Get your copy here. For subscription options click here.