5 Minutes with… Kiran Prashad
Kiran Prashad has been with international performance marketing agency DAC for over 25 years, serving the last 15 as president of DAC New York and, since the start of 2024, as COO as well. With a passion for developing and streamlining processes, she is the foremost authority on DAC’s customised applications, and recently won a Silver Globee in the ‘Woman Executive of the Year - Technology Products and Services’ category.
A graduate of York University and the Queen’s University Executive Leadership Program, Kiran joined DAC right after college, instantly falling in love with the bustle and excitement of agency life.
What’s kept her at DAC over the decades is the company’s independence and entrepreneurial spirit, giving her the runway to grow and execute her own ideas – as well as the flexibility to balance this hard work with her responsibilities as a mother to two children.
“I’ve been able to reinvent myself with every change and help move DAC forward from print to digital,” she says. “It was exciting, and I continuously evolved and reinvented myself. It never felt like the same company; from start to finish, it felt like I worked for five different companies, but all with the same core values, which were really important to me.”
Speaking with LBB’s Ben Conway, Kiran discusses how her New York office has evolved over time and her growth philosophy, and gives evergreen advice for anyone entering adland today.
LBB> You’ve been President of DAC New York for 15 years. How do you feel your long tenure has shaped the office? Is there something to be said for having consistent leadership in advertising?
Kiran> The office was very small and very different back then, compared to what it looks like today. For me, leading New York has been a very proud moment in my career, leading an office, leading a team, watching it grow from almost a seedling into a full-grown tree. Each year, it’s kept moving forward, getting bigger, and that growth has been largely due to the amazing team I’ve grown and who have stayed with me throughout the journey.
Consistency in leadership definitely helps. When you have leadership that knows the market, knows the culture they want, and knows how to hustle for business – especially as an independent agency – that’s a huge positive. I take pride in watching the next levels of leadership emulate those same values, determination and curiosity to move the business forward and continue getting it to the next level.
LBB> You also became COO of DAC at the start of this year, though you’ve always been involved with operations at DAC. How has this changed your day-to-day?
Kiran> I naively didn’t think this role was going to change my day-to-day significantly, but it really has; I now have oversight across the entire organisation. This gives me insight into how I can contribute to the continual scaling of DAC. For example, we’re implementing an ERP (enterprise resource planning) system, which gives me a line of sight into the whole organisation and helps me find solutions that will benefit DAC as we move forward, especially as we grow beyond 600 or 700 employees.
Taking on this role also meant I took over a very critical department – People and Culture, or Human Resources – and being responsible for all of these humans is a big job that I take very seriously. Without people, DAC is nothing; we are all about our people. I’m excited about the opportunities in front of me to shape how we partner with our employees, from their first interview with us all the way to the end of their time at DAC. I’m able to influence and impact that through the work I’ll be doing with my team in P&C.
So, yes, it ended up being a much bigger role than I anticipated. I’m really excited, but also a little impatient, waiting to see how I can effect change – because change sometimes takes a while!
LBB> How do you want clients and employees alike to experience DAC? How have you influenced the culture over the years, and how would you describe it?
Kiran> Our culture has always been what sets us apart. Back when we were all in the office five days a week, candidates who came in for interviews, whether in Toronto or New York, would often say, ‘there's such an energy, such a buzz, such a vibe in the office’. I think that’s because we’ve always been very careful in choosing people who fit with our values and culture beyond their ability to do the job. It’s something that’s been curated over the years – it didn’t happen overnight. Even as we moved from print and analogue to digital, and now into a full-funnel media agency, the culture has remained strong.
Our values are enthusiasm that drives us, excellent execution, curiosity to learn, and courage to propose new solutions. We’ve continued to build on that foundation by bringing in really smart, curious and creative people -- people who fit. If you fit with us, you feel like you belong to something special. That’s the culture we’ve worked hard to create and maintain.
LBB> Your personal philosophy is all about growth. How does this influence your leadership style?
Kiran> Without growth, we can’t succeed – for our employees, our clients, or the business itself. I’ve always been very driven to win, and to make New York the most successful office. Thankfully, with the team, we’ve been able to do that and sustain it for 15 years.
Growth is important from a business perspective, but also from a personal perspective. Ensuring that our employees grow, providing opportunities for them to be mentored, is crucial. Those are all key aspects beyond just the obvious financial growth of the business. Growth in people, growth in operations, scalability, and systems – all of this is essential. As we grow and serve larger clients, it’s important to ensure we can do that with positive outcomes for both the clients and our employees. That’s always been really important to me as a leader.
LBB> What have been some of the most important moments of personal growth in your career? Are there any lessons or learning moments that have stuck with you?
Kiran> For sure, taking over the New York office was one of the most important moments of personal growth in my career. I took it over when it was not a profitable business and turning it into the largest has been a significant learning and growth experience.
Before then, as I moved up into leadership, I realised I had to embrace a couple of key principles. One is: ‘This is the life I chose’. Every day, I remind myself that agency life is not for everyone, but it’s the life I chose. So, I come in every day with a mentality that I’m going to win, whether it’s with a client issue, an employee matter, or an operational challenge.
The second principle is: ‘Never let them see you sweat’. The more you move up in an organisation, the more responsibility you have – people, teams, and everything that comes with them. You can have the toughest, most stressful day, but you have to maintain your composure. There are always eyes on you, watching how you react and carry yourself, and that impacts how everyone else in the organisation feels and responds.
These have been important lessons for me as I’ve gone through my career. There have been great days and not-so-great days, dealing with emotional situations, economic challenges, or the pandemic. In those moments, you have to make decisions for the entire organisation. You have to keep it together, because how you feel and act will impact everyone else.
LBB> How has the industry, and your role within it, evolved the most over the years? What changes provided the biggest impact?
Kiran> The transition from the late ‘90s to the early 2000s, moving from print to digital, was the scariest, most unpredictable time within the agency. But we met it head-on because failure was not an option. We had to make it, even though we weren’t always sure how or how hard it would be. As a print agency, I believe we’re the only one in North America that successfully made that transition to digital and stayed in business. That’s a truly remarkable part of our story. We always had the faith that we could do it, and with the right people, our CEO at the helm and the right team, we did what it took to win because losing was never an option in our minds.
LBB> If someone was entering the industry today, what advice would you give them?
Kiran> The advice I would give now is the same advice I would have given early in my career: If you come in with a can-do attitude and a willingness to do what it takes, you can build your career. You need to be curious and always be on a journey of learning. It’s important to be able to adapt to changes. When I joined DAC, the pace of change was slower because we were in the analogue world. But as soon as we became digital, the pace and rate of change accelerated rapidly. You need to be able to move with the times and adapt quickly.
The ability to cope and adapt in a fast-paced environment is also essential. My advice is to show up every day ready to do your best work, look for opportunities to contribute to the organisation, and stay focused on learning and growing. I’ve seen people come in, work hard, focus and progress in their roles. Determination, courage, a passion to learn, curiosity and a willingness to question and explore - that’s a winning recipe in today’s environment, especially with the rapid pace of change we’re seeing. Take AI, for example. It’s going to disrupt the industry, but don’t avoid it. Embrace it and see how it can make you better, how it can help you advance. Don’t see it as a threat; see it as an opportunity to grow and improve.
LBB> What are some of your goals for the rest of 2024 and beyond - for both you and DAC New York?
Kiran> As I approach the end of my first year as COO, my main goal is to get a lot of the foundational work in place within my People and Culture team. We’re currently implementing big systems in the organisation, like Workday and Monday.com, and my focus is on getting these systems in place. Then, I want to start strategising for 2025, both in terms of how we can enrich the employee experience at every stage and how we can enhance the systems we’re putting in place to ensure we can scale and grow as an organisation. As we move forward, I’m focused on differentiating DAC as a forward-thinking media agency, both domestically and internationally.
Personally, in my role, I want to intentionally work with and mentor the next group of leaders. I want to support those who are looking for guidance and direction, and next year, I hope to provide even more intentional guidance on how they can achieve their goals. My work is my passion, and I put everything into it – it’s been very rewarding. I also recognise that I need to find a bit more balance with my personal life because I tend to prioritise DAC above all else. DAC has always given me the platform to achieve all my professional goals, and I’m very grateful for that.
