Preeti Vyas Giannetti started Vyas Giannetti Creative (VGC) in 1997 to provide specialised holistic communication solutions to its clients. Vyas heads the VGC team as Chairwoman and Chief Creative Officer. She has also been part of the jury for the Cannes International Advertising Festival, as also on the jury for the New York Festivals. She was also invited to Sao Paulo, Brazil, to showcase Indian Creativity in Advertising by Semana Internacionale Da Criacao Publicitaria.

Recently, she was featured as amongst 50 Most Influential Women by Verve magazine. Two other important awards, too, were conferred on Vyas for her leadership at VGC – as one of the 25 most powerful women in Indian business by business magazine Business Today, and ‘Creative Professional of the Year’ at the Indira Awards for Marketing Excellence. On a softer note, Cartier recently profiled her amongst its selection of women of style and substance.

Vyas is Executive Committee member of the National Design Business Incubator at the National Institute of Design (NID), Asia’s premier design school, and on the Communications Management Panel of MICA, one of India’s leading advertising and brand communication institutes.
Preeti Vyas, Chairwoman & Chief Creative Officer, Vyas Giannetti Creative Pvt Ltd


What was the breakthrough point in your career?

• Being accepted at NID
• Joining Contract as visualiser under Mohammed Khan’s creative directorial tutelage
• Being part of the dream team in Trikaya Grey with Chris D’Rozario and Ravi Gupta
• Starting VGC 11 years ago with great founder clients like Aditya Birla Group and The Times of India

If you had to choose one work from what you have done that is special, which one would it be and why?

Impossible to choose one… there are so many. I believed in every piece of work that I had created. It would be impossible for me to sell to the client something which I did not believe in myself.

Unlike what is seen in media agencies, where about a third of the companies are led by women leaders, in a creative agency, the top posts still do not see many women creative leaders. What about this space makes it more challenging for the professionals here?

Contrary to what you may think, there is a glass ceiling in Indian advertising and communication businesses. The industry is still dominated by the men’s club. For women, to graduate through levels till mid-management is fine, but after that it gets tough. Hence, I chose to step out and carve out my own place in the industry.

Is there any extra edge/anything different that a woman creative head could give to a creative idea in comparison to her male counterparts?

There was a survey done by Calipers, a US-based organisation across the globe amongst senior women professionals and entrepreneurs. Their findings are wonderful… They found that women were better team builders. They are very inclusive and persuasive in their approach and are also better risk takers than men. They see opportunities and have the courage to follow through. If they were shown up as falling short, they quietly withdrew and learnt and got back to prove themselves. For them, it’s a ‘Never say die attitude’.