#WeLeadComms: Sarika Rath

Bangalore-based communication leader Sarika Rath is today’s #WeLeadComms honoree.

Sarika is a visionary CXO-level communications and corporate affairs leader with over 25 years of experience shaping corporate reputation, driving transformation, and building stakeholder trust across global technology, semiconductor, and IT services organizations. She is recognized for elevating communications from a support function to a strategic business enabler—strengthening leadership credibility, shaping external narrative, accelerating change, elevating brand reputation, and delivering measurable enterprise value across complex internal and external ecosystems.

A trusted advisor to CEOs, C-suite leaders, and boards, Sarika brings deep expertise in executive thought leadership, media relations, public affairs, ESG and sustainability storytelling, employer branding, and internal communications. Her work aligns narrative, culture, and brand with business priorities—driving influence across media, policymakers, industry forums, employees, and partners while enabling differentiation in competitive markets with authenticity and trust.

Most recently, as Head – Corporate Communications & Public Affairs at Applied Materials, Sarika led integrated branding, internal and external communications, digital strategy, events and awards, and community outreach for the India region. She positioned the organization as an industry thought leader, expanded executive visibility across key global and regional forums, strengthened go-to-market communications through integrated media, thought leadership, and engagement strategies, and built structured communications frameworks that reinforced leadership alignment and organizational credibility.

Previously, during a decade at Firstsource Solutions as General Manager – Corporate Communications, Sarika played a pivotal role in enterprise transformation. She led a comprehensive rebranding and repositioning initiative, strengthened external communications, enhanced media engagement, social presence, significantly improved employee engagement, and served as a strategic advisor to the CEO’s office on reputation risk, change, and issues management through analytics-driven models.

Earlier leadership roles at Accenture India and IBM India, alongside experience across leading PR agencies and institutions, built her strong strategic and executional foundation. An alumna of IIM Bangalore’s LEAD program and a recipient of multiple global leadership and community impact awards, Sarika’s ambition is to operate at enterprise and ecosystem scale—shaping corporate voice, influencing public and industry discourse, and building enduring reputational capital for globally admired organizations.

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