I had the privilege of working with Jyoti Desai for the past five years, from the time she was first hired as a creative director for Transamerica reporting into my organization. Jyoti’s leadership gave the creative team a newfound energy. She quickly assessed the structure and talent of the team, making changes where needed and providing much needed direction.
Jyoti oversaw tremendous growth of the creative team and took it from a fledgling group of a handful of designers/production people to the efficient, professional organization it is today with more than 20 designers, including several freelancers. This model and the collaborative team culture that it fostered has helped us meet the fluctuating needs of our dynamic organization, and allows us to be independent of external agencies.
During her tenure with Transamerica, Jyoti created an email marketing capability from the ground up; managed the digital marketing team where she oversaw the launch of an award-winning mobile app; and was a key player in defining the participant communications strategy, including the development of our flagship automated and targeted email campaign program.
Jyoti oversaw tremendous growth of the creative team and took it from a fledgling group of a handful of designers/production people to the efficient, professional organization it is today with more than 20 designers, including several freelancers. This model and the collaborative team culture that it fostered has helped us meet the fluctuating needs of our dynamic organization, and allows us to be independent of external agencies.
During her tenure with Transamerica, Jyoti created an email marketing capability from the ground up; managed the digital marketing team where she oversaw the launch of an award-winning mobile app; and was a key player in defining the participant communications strategy, including the development of our flagship automated and targeted email campaign program.
Most visibly, Jyoti significantly elevated the quality of the creative work being performed by the group and brought a fresh eye to the staid world of retirement plan communications. She worked with all levels of employees throughout the organization and will be greatly missed to all those who came to know and appreciate her creativity and her commitment to quality.
Patricia Advaney
Senior Vice President, Customer Experience, Transamerica
Senior Vice President, Customer Experience, Transamerica
_______________________________________________________________________
Jyoti, is an enormously talented creative director, who brings amazing energy, insight, business acumen and a creative spark to every project!
The retirement plan campaigns she developed for participants consistently achieved outstanding plan level results because the concepts were easy to understand, the call to action clear and the creative was uniquely relatable for the intended audience.
Jyoti knows how to cut directly to what's important and what people need to know to get motivated and take action!! She is a tremendous business partner and inspiring team leader, who always makes the client needs paramount!
Betsy Weinberg
VP, Marketing Communications, Transamerica
VP, Marketing Communications, Transamerica
_______________________________________________________________________
Jyoti Desai is a great boss and person. Once she left Transamerica it was never the same.
I worked at Transamerica before Jyoti started, so I was able to see first-hand the radical improvement she made in the quality of the work. Everything went from being dated and unimaginative, e.g., images of old people in beach chairs, to being alive and fun and interesting and award-winning.
She has always had a clear vision of what she wanted to do with the department. And beyond vision even, she had passion and flare and decisiveness to make her vision a reality. It was fun to watch her in action―giving a lot of freedom to her designers and writers but always available when we got stuck or just wanted someone to help us take our work to the next level. She has an incredible knack for knowing what's "off" about a piece, and what can be done to make it better.
Those of us who have worked under Jyoti will forever be grateful for her mentoring and guidance and sound judgment. Because she cares about process and protocol we always knew she had our backs and that she would not let anyone make us do work that didn't make sense. The Creative department gained a lot more credibility in her capable hands as she insisted that work flow through a project management system (which she also put in place) and that the strategy for the piece was laid out up front.
She was not afraid to speak her mind--and her direct honest communication style helped everyone know where they stood. Even though her background was more design than writing she helped me as a writer be clear and direct in my communications as well. She also helped me with boundaries since I tend to over-do--and in her hiring both Lyn and Ellen to help me she saved my sanity―I didn't even know how much help I needed until they came.
We did some great work together--the Retire OnTrack program and strategy and all those innovative emails, the I&R brochure, her bringing all the sales pieces in house (saving us a fortune and making them look and sound so much better), the new enrollment book, the Managed Advice brochure―and on and on.
I am grateful to Jyoti for being an awesome Creative Director and manager―we all learned so much from her. Anybody she works for and with will be very lucky to have her.
Wynne S Ennis
Lead Copywriter, Transamerica
I worked at Transamerica before Jyoti started, so I was able to see first-hand the radical improvement she made in the quality of the work. Everything went from being dated and unimaginative, e.g., images of old people in beach chairs, to being alive and fun and interesting and award-winning.
She has always had a clear vision of what she wanted to do with the department. And beyond vision even, she had passion and flare and decisiveness to make her vision a reality. It was fun to watch her in action―giving a lot of freedom to her designers and writers but always available when we got stuck or just wanted someone to help us take our work to the next level. She has an incredible knack for knowing what's "off" about a piece, and what can be done to make it better.
Those of us who have worked under Jyoti will forever be grateful for her mentoring and guidance and sound judgment. Because she cares about process and protocol we always knew she had our backs and that she would not let anyone make us do work that didn't make sense. The Creative department gained a lot more credibility in her capable hands as she insisted that work flow through a project management system (which she also put in place) and that the strategy for the piece was laid out up front.
She was not afraid to speak her mind--and her direct honest communication style helped everyone know where they stood. Even though her background was more design than writing she helped me as a writer be clear and direct in my communications as well. She also helped me with boundaries since I tend to over-do--and in her hiring both Lyn and Ellen to help me she saved my sanity―I didn't even know how much help I needed until they came.
We did some great work together--the Retire OnTrack program and strategy and all those innovative emails, the I&R brochure, her bringing all the sales pieces in house (saving us a fortune and making them look and sound so much better), the new enrollment book, the Managed Advice brochure―and on and on.
I am grateful to Jyoti for being an awesome Creative Director and manager―we all learned so much from her. Anybody she works for and with will be very lucky to have her.
Wynne S Ennis
Lead Copywriter, Transamerica
_______________________________________________________________________
The first day I met Jyoti I knew she was a dynamic individual - someone I wanted to learn more about and someone I knew I wanted to work with. As I did, it was clear that she's the perfect balance of art & science.
The first day I met Jyoti I knew she was a dynamic individual - someone I wanted to learn more about and someone I knew I wanted to work with. As I did, it was clear that she's the perfect balance of art & science.
The art - she has a keen pulse on what's good creative vs. what's not and what's progressive creative and what's dated. She listens to the client's needs and then returns more than expected, even when she has to work within a box.
The science - she understands and embraces how the marketing engine works, including the need for process and procedures to ensure speed to market, but without sacrificing quality or compliance. Let's face it, in a rigid, highly regulated financial environment it's hard to make marketing sexy, but Jyoti made it happen.
Lastly, she's one of the few executive managers who's staff respects her management approach and style. She's vested in her direct reports making it a top priority to develop, encourage, train and promote her staff. She's one of the best, in my book.
Kristina Brendlinger
VP, Marketing Operations, Transamerica
Small Business Owner at Googie Down, LLC
Kristina Brendlinger
VP, Marketing Operations, Transamerica
Small Business Owner at Googie Down, LLC
_______________________________________________________________________
Jyoti brilliantly facilitated our first advertising campaign, web site design and marketing/display materials with creativity and exceptional design skills. She is a creative professional of the first order and I will never question her superb judgment on the design work or conceptual development work.
Jyoti brilliantly facilitated our first advertising campaign, web site design and marketing/display materials with creativity and exceptional design skills. She is a creative professional of the first order and I will never question her superb judgment on the design work or conceptual development work.
We have many compliments on the work she has done for us, and it has given us a leg up on our competition in the digital space.
Donald Pachner
Owner, Pachner & Associates, LLC
Donald Pachner
Owner, Pachner & Associates, LLC
_______________________________________________________________________
Jyoti Desai is a top-notch creative director. You can see her impeccable design sensibility when you view her work, but her contribution of ideas is one of the qualities that sets her apart.
Jyoti is smart, conceptual, experienced, and a powerhouse when it comes to getting the job done quickly, thoroughly, and effectively — whether she’s doing it herself or supervising and mentoring others.
A born leader, Jyoti is a tremendously valuable contribution to any creative department.
Julie Badion
Creative Director, Source Marketing
Jyoti Desai is a top-notch creative director. You can see her impeccable design sensibility when you view her work, but her contribution of ideas is one of the qualities that sets her apart.
Jyoti is smart, conceptual, experienced, and a powerhouse when it comes to getting the job done quickly, thoroughly, and effectively — whether she’s doing it herself or supervising and mentoring others.
A born leader, Jyoti is a tremendously valuable contribution to any creative department.
Julie Badion
Creative Director, Source Marketing
_______________________________________________________________________
I cannot speak highly enough about Jyoti. She is exquisitely talented, a true professional, and fully dedicated to delivering creative solutions of the finest quality. Jyoti has excellent creative skills but moreover, a strong strategic sense, which ensures that her lovely, well executed creative work consistently meets business objectives. She is collaborative, yet sets the same very high standards for her teammates that she does for herself.
Thorough preparation, careful analytics and a unwavering focus define her work; likewise she expects the same from those she manages and works beside.
She is a strong and persuasive communicator, expert at building clients' confidence, and unafraid of expressing her dissenting opinion in the face of direction she feels is mistaken and not in the client's interest--yet she does so with diplomacy and tact. As a result, her clients trust and respect her judgment.
Jyoti is hard working, principled, and keenly intelligent; one could not ask for a finer colleague or employee.
Heidi Udell
Founder and Creative Director, Great Circle Creative, Inc
I cannot speak highly enough about Jyoti. She is exquisitely talented, a true professional, and fully dedicated to delivering creative solutions of the finest quality. Jyoti has excellent creative skills but moreover, a strong strategic sense, which ensures that her lovely, well executed creative work consistently meets business objectives. She is collaborative, yet sets the same very high standards for her teammates that she does for herself.
Thorough preparation, careful analytics and a unwavering focus define her work; likewise she expects the same from those she manages and works beside.
She is a strong and persuasive communicator, expert at building clients' confidence, and unafraid of expressing her dissenting opinion in the face of direction she feels is mistaken and not in the client's interest--yet she does so with diplomacy and tact. As a result, her clients trust and respect her judgment.
Jyoti is hard working, principled, and keenly intelligent; one could not ask for a finer colleague or employee.
Heidi Udell
Founder and Creative Director, Great Circle Creative, Inc