ALL ABOUT MERicha

Vitals• Youngest of 3 siblings (April 29th)

• Family in India• Brother in Philippines

• Born and raised in India

• Moved to North America 2003

Lived and worked in 3 cities other than Toronto in last 10 years

• Married (March 23, 2003)• Husband: Prashant, Product Director SAP

• Schulich School of Business• Undergrad and Masters in Marketing from India

• General Mills• 2 years

• Hudson’s Bay Company• 3 yrs

• A Miner Miracle (Non Profit, San Francisco)• 1 Yr

• Impulse (Sourcing agency for Esprit in India)• 5 Yrs

Richa’s favorite things• My Family• My Home• My Friends• Cooking• Reading• Learning & Exploring• Running• Dancing• Entertaining• Travelling

Richa’s least favorite things• Commuting in a snow storm• Junk food• Lack of variety in food • Arrogant and selfish people• Admin stuff (Paying bills etc.)• Not being involved/ left out

What motivates me?

1. Making a difference

1. At work

2. In someone’s life

2. Challenging work that fuels my passion

3. Trust and autonomy

4. Appreciation of what I bring to the table

5. Cohesive and caring team

6. Personal development

How would I describe myself?

• Positive, Passionate, People person

• Lateral thinker – big picture

• Seek opportunities for personal development and growth

• Agile

• My Motto: “Leave the world a better place than you found

it; and others happier than when you met them.”

How would Strength Finder describe me?

• Strength Finder describes following as my top 5 themes:

• 1. Positivity – Enthusiasm that is contagious

• 2. Responsibility- Take ownership, committed to stable values such as honesty and loyalty

• 3. Communication – Good conversationalist

• 4. Relator – Develop and enjoy close relationships

• 5. Belief – Purposeful life

General Manager or Consumer Marketer?

• ANSWER: Passionate about making a difference.

• Love the consumer side, it has been identified as my strength in the past. The reason I am in marketing is because it allows you to understand CONSUMER.

• Comfortable being a general manager as long as it makes a dent and not just day to day management.

I aspire to be a balanced marketer who not only understands the consumer but also understands how to address business challenges. I don’t think I will enjoy working for an agency, I like being engaged in the overall big picture.

How would I describe my management style?

• Trust

• Open communication

• Casual feedback so I can act

• Stretch projects – not just time fillers

• Flexibility

• Autonomy

How would people describe me?• From the latest feedback (Dec 2012)

• Positive, Passionate, People Person

• Strong Abstract thinker

• Connects with the outside world

• Takes initiative

• Considerate

• Seeks feedback

Areas I am working on getting better (based on feedback)

• Communication

• To ensure people know what I am working on, progress on projects

• Delivering results

• By moving projects forward and striving to over deliver

• Influence people by using fact based insights

• Raise leadership profile

Additional areas I want to get better at personally

• Self Awareness• I am on this journey of becoming more mindful that has been helping me become more self aware and AWARE and

AWAKE in general. It’s a long journey but I am excited about how it is already making me feel.

• Strategies to Win• Leveraging P2W to formulate long term growth plans

• Pricing and Demand Forecasting• Gain deeper understanding

• New product Innovation and Customer relationship

• Mentoring and championing people

My “work-life balance” philosophy

•Flexibility• as long as work is not getting compromised

• I don’t believe in 9 to 5 and I really don’t think balance has to do

anything with hours. I believe its about getting work done when it is

convenient to you as long as that convenience does not derail

projects.

Feedback philosophy• Timely, regular, constructive, casual feedback allows me

to course correct immediately.

• I like a lot of it, positive as well as constructive• Feedback helps me gauge your expectations, what you like and what you

don’t. Try and be specific about what you like and what you don’t and we can come up with a way to action on it.

• How I process feedback/info in general• I usually take some time to process (especially formal constructive)• I have a tendency to ignore all the good feedback when we start talking

about opportunities in a formal feedback atmosphere. Working on coping with that and also working on letting the feedback settle in before jumping in with questions

Extra questions

1. Where do you see yourself being in 6-12 months?

1. Managing a team within 6-12 months

• What about 2-3 years?

• Still managing a team but might have a social enterprise on the side for a good cause

2. What do you need me to commit to in order to help you get there?

1. Andrew - Need guidance to help prepare me for the leadership role

2. Andrew - You to be vested in my development and success

3. Lori/GMCC - Be honest and if you see potential develop me as a well rounded leader

3. What are you willing to commit to in order to get there?

1. Integrity, hard work, passion – let me know if you need anything else

THE NEXT FEW WEEKS

My focus

1. Getting up to speed quickly

• Getting to know the team, issues, projects, etc

2. Keep the momentum on F13

• Ensure we execute the plan

3. Ensuring that we are ready for Frameworks

• Want to ensure we deliver on expectations

Where I need your help

• Guidance

• Especially in first few weeks

• Involve me

• Even if they are not my projects as long as they are related to brand, it will

help me assimilate better

• Be patient!

• I might not be 100% in first few weeks

• Challenge me

• Trust me