Kalra will bring data-driven approaches to the agency’s wide-ranging Canadian client portfolio and grow and mentor the expanding social, digital and influencer teams across the region.
TORONTO (August, 30, 2023) – Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG) agency Golin announced today the appointment of Sasha Kalra to vice president (VP) of digital and creative strategy in its Toronto market. His newly created role combines senior leadership with consulting oversight for digital strategy across the Canadian client portfolio that includes Staples, Ferrero and Columbia Sportswear. Kalra officially started in July, reporting to Lindsay Peterson, managing director (MD) of Golin Canada.
As part of Kalra’s remit, he will grow and mentor the social, digital and influencer team on all aspects of digital excellence, world-class creative and client strategy. He will also support Golin Canada’s expanding growth plan.
“Sasha and his team will play an integral role upleveling our digital counsel across consumer and corporate communications,” said Peterson. “Providing everything from paid strategy and social media to creative content and influencer relations, I’m thrilled to have his leadership join our ranks so we can truly do the best work of our lives with our valued client partners.”
Kalra’s initial remit will involve an integrated role on more than 60% of Golin Canada’s top clients, identifying organic growth opportunities with fresh digital creative strategy at the core of the work. By leaning into analytics and data to grow audiences and make creative decisions, he aims to provide a more proactive consultation for Canada-based digital issues that generate brand-building excellence.
“I want to bring a data-driven approach to our work and lean into analytics to make creative decisions and grow our clients’ audiences,” said Kalra. “I am excited to work on client retention by making sure Golin is always the first agency to react and respond to changes in the digital landscape.”
Kalra brings to Golin more than a decade of multidisciplinary experience from agencies, healthcare brands and media organizations. His expertise spans channel strategies, paid campaigns, social listening, digital workshops, corporate advocacy, stakeholder engagement, executive social media, influencer marketing and events.
Most recently he held the title of director of digital strategy at Gateway Advisors, a New York-based strategic communications consultancy that serves clients across technology, healthcare, social impact and global public affairs. Throughout his career, he has been at the helm of significant campaigns for clients like Glassdoor, Indeed, the Institute of International Education, Johnson & Johnson, Planned Parenthood, Qualtrics and Zillow.
He has also helped clients advance their corporate citizenship and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) goals by leading social impact work like the launch of The Board Challenge – a non-profit that champions representation of Black directors in the boardrooms of U.S. public and private companies. He also provided strategic communications support for the APEC CEO Summit from 2020 to 2023, supporting the advancement of public-private dialogue in the world’s fastest-growing region. Prior to that, Kalra served as the social media manager at Tilray and managed the company’s global social media strategy across North America, Europe and Australia.
The digital mandate in Canada has been rapidly developing in the past year, including the Digital Charter Implementation Act in 2022, which strengthened Canada’s private sector privacy law and created new restrictions around the use of artificial intelligence.
“I’ve worked a lot on the intersection of brands and companies as an advocate,” Kalra said. “Navigating corporate advocacy and evaluating what communications and actions are appropriate can generate impactful results, and I hope to bring that perspective to Golin’s Canadian clients as we help them reach their target audiences in new and meaningful ways.”