40 Under 40 2020: Siddharth Sankhe, Nielsen

Siddharth Sankhe

Business and digital commercialisation leader, customised intelligence
Nielsen
Singapore

Siddarth Sankhe has driven sharp growth in his business over the past two years by introducing innovative solutions such as digital intelligence dashboards, marketing planning solutions, trends futureproofing and digital behavioural insights. In this time, he has led the addition of a raft of marquee client names in automobiles, consumer goods and financial services.

He is on this list, however, not just as a driver of new business for Nielsen. Sankhe, whose varied CV ranges from stints running WE’s insight and analytics division to pro bono work in Africa, has also published a mini-e book with Tigerhall Asia, titled Big Data Meets Small Data, which is focused on data-driven decision making.

He introduced the concepts of automation, API integration and intelligent visualisation to help uncover the hidden correlations and answers when it comes to strategy building and ROI calculations. In the process, he helped win hundreds of thousands of dollars in new business. He has continuously found new ways to improve current processes by using marketing technology tools to help improve efficiencies for clients and business alike. By working with technology partners, he reduced project load on junior associates across the region by over 50%.

Sankhe's belief in nurturing his team also shines through in high employee retention. Some of his former direct reports are now doing impactful work with companies such as Shoppee, Grab and Kantar.

Sankhe’s accomplishments are impressive away from his day job, too. He continues to be a visiting professor of marketing research and measurement at universities in Singapore and India. He has mentored over 100 participants in Temasek’s Hyperhack Datathon on using data for better targeting of customers and solving real-life problems using insights.

As a well-rounded leader, Sankhe has used his skills with data and analytics to aid Singapore’s small businesses, in association with industry body Singapore Manufacturing Federation. He helped these businesses by using data and digital strategies to better reach customers. Over 200 participants from various industries joined a discussion and gained valuable insights about reaching and communicating with consumers better in this day and age of social distancing.