Sumana Rajagopal

Bio:

Sumana Rajagopal is an accomplished executive with 30 years of experience spanning multiple industries and cross-functional marketing disciplines. Throughout her distinguished career, she has contributed her expertise to a wide array of sectors, including pharmaceuticals, retail, financial services, automotive, media, and entertainment.

Currently, she serves as the Executive Director of Media & Content at Merck. In this capacity, she oversees partnership management, optimizes marketing impact, and drives digital transformation, with primary deliverables focused on corporate growth and operational efficiency.

Her professional journey has included providing large organizations with transformational strategies that are instrumental in shaping the future of marketing. After an enriching seven-year tenure at Comcast and NBCU, she returned to Merck, bringing with her a wealth of experience in advancing marketing strategies, portfolio management, and technological operations. During her time at Comcast and NBCU, she concentrated on integrating products to meet customer expectations and elevate operational outcomes.

At Merck, she leads a dedicated internal team of media, content, and channel specialists, collaborating alongside external agency partners. Her leadership ensures the seamless integration of media and content to enhance customer experiences, foster robust business partnerships, and drive revenue growth through deeper engagement and connection. She is recognized for her collaborative leadership style, which prioritizes efficiency in channel operations and teamwork.

Innovation is central to her approach.  With her guidance, Merck maintains an insights-driven culture, leveraging artificial intelligence and automation to revolutionize content creation and distribution. This strategy has markedly reduced time-to-market for personalized assets and strengthened decision-making processes across the organization.

Beyond her professional responsibilities, she is deeply committed to nurturing the next generation of talent, both within the workplace and in the broader community. She actively promotes and supports emerging leaders, ensuring a bright and promising future for the industry.