Sanyukta Dutta joins Ruder Finn India as Chief Strategy Officer

MUMBAI: After two decades of shaping stories, Sanyukta Dutta is taking on a new chapter, this time at the strategy table. Ruder Finn India has appointed Dutta as its Chief Strategy Officer, where she will lead the agency’s Strategy Office and work across its portfolio on growth, value creation and client strategy.

Dutta brings 20 years of experience spanning corporate and technology communications across India and Southeast Asia. Her career has taken her through agencies and brands including Burson, OPPO, BCW, Ogilvy Public Relations, Weber Shandwick and Vaishnavi Corporate Communications.

Before joining Ruder Finn, Dutta spent nearly 4 years and 10 months at Burson, serving as India Practice Chair – Enterprise and Consumer Technology from November 2021 to August 2026. She led the technology practice, managing strategic communications for enterprise and consumer technology clients and a team of 40 professionals.

At Burson, her remit covered client leadership, strategic insights, team management and practice growth, with a focus on translating complex technology subjects into narratives for wider audiences.

Prior to Burson, Dutta spent around 1 year and 7 months at OPPO, where she was Corporate and Brand Communications Lead for APAC from February 2020 to August 2021. Based in Greater Kuala Lumpur, she oversaw communications across nine Southeast Asian markets, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Taiwan and Cambodia.

Her earlier agency experience includes 2 years at BCW, where she served as Director in Kuala Lumpur, followed by more than 5 years at Ogilvy Public Relations. At Ogilvy, she held roles including Partner and Account Director, working across consumer, corporate, hospitality and brand communications.

Dutta also spent 1 year at Weber Shandwick, where she managed a group of 4-5 key accounts across sectors including automobiles, media and entertainment, fashion, education and non-profit organisations.

She began her agency career at Vaishnavi Corporate Communications, where she spent nearly 5 years and 10 months as Senior Manager, working across corporate, infrastructure, retail, FMCG, hospitality and aviation accounts.

At Ruder Finn India, her new role brings that mix of technology, corporate communications and regional experience into a strategy-focused mandate. The agency said Dutta will work across its portfolio to identify growth opportunities, create value and shape its next phase.

For Dutta, the move marks a shift from leading a technology communications practice to influencing strategy across a wider agency portfolio putting two decades of communications experience firmly to work at the strategy desk.