'Each milestone pushed me to think bigger, communicate better & lead with empathy'

This IPRCCA special series feature celebrates the journey and milestones of Young Corporate Communications Professional of the Year award winner at the 15^th edition of e4m IPRCCA 2024, Amrit Anand, Associate Director & Head - Corporate Communications, Zupee. Anand is the industry’s celebrated professional and rising star who has been doing commendable work in the communications industry for over 16 years. His creativity, strategic thinking, and leadership in the corporate communications has driven tangible impact for the organizations he has worked with along with setting new benchmarks for innovation, engagement, and excellence for the young professionals in the industry.

Today, we explore Anand’s journey in communications, how did he get his big break, milestones and skill sets that shaped his growth into a leadership role and accelerate his career trajectory, his plans to shape his career as a next-gen communications leader, and more.

Excerpts:

What inspired you to pursue a career in communications, and how did you break into the industry?

I didn’t grow up aiming for a career in communications but the moment I realized that words could move markets, shift public perception, and drive real-world change, I was hooked. During my undergraduate years, I became fascinated by how communication influences everything from elections to consumer behavior. A class presentation on Marshall McLuhan’s "medium is the message" was an early moment of clarity. It showed me that comms wasn’t just about messaging; it was about power and perception.

That curiosity led me to Jamia’s AJK Mass Communication Centre, where I explored every possible format such as writing, audio-visual storytelling and research. While many peers leaned toward journalism or filmmaking, I realized I was more drawn to narrative architecture. I was fascinated with how organizations shape public trust, how leaders communicate during uncertainty, and how brand reputation is built from the inside out. Corporate communications offered that blend of strategy, clarity, and real-time impact.

Unlike most, I didn’t start in a PR agency or newsroom. I went straight in-house, and never looked back. Since then it’s been a journey of building trust, owning narratives, and learning to communicate when it matters most.

How has your journey evolved within the organization, and what milestones shaped your growth into a leadership role?

My journey in communications has been shaped by working across diverse sectors such as banking, retail, energy, and fintech. Each had its own pace, challenges, and expectations. At Bank of America and Walmart, I saw how global brands approach reputation management, internal alignment, and stakeholder trust. It taught me the value of structure, precision, and brand integrity.

At ReNew, I had the opportunity to build the communications function during its IPO prep phase. It was my first experience of setting up something from scratch, aligning with leadership, and building credibility for a fast-scaling company. It taught me how to work through ambiguity, align narrative with business strategy, and lead a small but high-performing team.

Paytm was a crash course in speed, ownership, and handling large-scale crises. I led communications for India’s biggest IPO and continued through a series of intense regulatory and reputational challenges. The scale was unmatched, but more than that, it was about learning to simplify complexity, respond under pressure, and manage multiple stakeholders - media, internal teams, investors, and the public - often all at once.

Each milestone pushed me to think bigger, communicate better, and lead with empathy and clarity. What helped me grow into leadership wasn’t a title, but the ability to stay calm in chaos, show up when it’s inconvenient, and earn trust by delivering again and again.

What skill sets do you think helped you accelerate your career trajectory at such a young age?

A lot of my growth has come from being thrown into the deep end and learning to swim. One of my earliest lessons in ownership came at Walmart India. I was hired for an internal comms role, and in my very first week, I was asked to make a presentation on setting up an employee feedback process. I did the deck, shared it with my manager, and moved on. A couple of weeks later, she asked, “When are you launching it?” I was stunned - I thought my job was just to make the presentation. She said, “You built this. Now it’s your baby.” I literally said, “This is an unwanted child, I don’t want it!” But she made me do it anyway. That was my first real lesson in 360-degree ownership and I still thank her for that push.

Years later, when I was interviewed by the CEO of Paytm, he said: “We’re getting a lot of negative press, and I want to change it. You’ll have the resources and support but I only have the patience of six months. Are you up for the challenge?” I didn’t think twice. I took it on and ended up staying there for nearly six years. We navigated IPO prep, regulatory turbulence, and built a proactive narrative machine. That trust and accountability drove real growth for the company and for me.

Therefore, one skill that’s consistently helped me grow is the ability to stay calm when thrown into the deep end and learn to swim. Whether it was launching a project I never planned to own, or turning around a company’s media narrative under a ticking clock, I’ve learned that stepping up before you feel ready is what accelerates growth. Ownership, not comfort, is what builds capability and that mindset has shaped everything I’ve done since.

How did you navigate your professional development? What role does mentorship, upskilling, or cross-functional exposure play?

I’ve never looked at professional development as a checklist, it’s been more about being intentional and staying close to the business. I’ve made it a point to learn not just from comms leaders, but from product heads, policy teams, and CFOs because effective communication starts with understanding what truly matters to the people you're speaking to.

One of the most valuable lessons came from my manager at ReNew. He once told me, “If you want to be a successful professional, don’t come back with excuses masquerading as reasons for failure. Come back with solutions. Tell me you’ve already tried X, Y, and Z—and now you’re trying A. I’ll step in only when I know you’ve pushed yourself hard enough.” That shifted my mindset completely. It taught me to lead with initiative, not dependency.

Upskilling, for me, has been driven by curiosity and necessity. For instance, during Paytm’s IPO phase, I realized I needed to quickly understand financial terminology and regulatory language to handle investor and media communication with confidence. I spent weeks going through past DRHPs, analyst reports, and financial coverage. This was just to get fluent enough to own the narrative credibly. That self-learning gave me both confidence and control.

Cross-functional exposure has helped me evolve from being just a communicator to being a business partner - someone who doesn’t just tell stories, but understands the full context behind them.

What does the ‘Young Corporate Communications Professional of the Year’ recognition mean to you personally and professionally at this stage of your career? How do you plan to shape your career and build on this momentum as a next-gen communications leader?

This recognition is special, not just as a personal milestone, but as a reminder of the journey so far. Communications is often a behind-the-scenes function, and to be acknowledged like this means a lot. It validates the long nights, the crisis calls, the invisible prep, and most importantly, the trust that teams and leaders have placed in me.

Professionally, it pushes me to think bigger. I want to move beyond measuring success by media coverage alone and focus on how communications can shape real business outcomes - whether it’s influencing public perception, building trust with regulators, or contributing to policy dialogue. Increasingly, I see the role of communications converging with government affairs and strategy and that’s the space I want to operate in.

As a next-gen leader, I plan to take on challenges that sit at the intersection of business, media, and policy. I want to build comms teams that not only tell powerful stories, but also shift conversations, protect reputations, and influence how industries are understood. This is just the beginning.