National Research Group announced that Sushma Panchawati, a veteran insights strategist and emerging markets specialist, has been appointed Senior Vice President, Content & Strategy. She will oversee the firm's presence in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. NRG is part of Stagwell.

In her new role, Panchawati will work closely with both existing and new clients across the streaming, television, and theatrical landscapes, leading brand health, concept evaluation, messaging and positioning, content testing, and creative material testing. Panchawati has more than 15 years of experience working in product and marketing strategy. Most recently, she was part of the founding team at Edvanza, a career advancement partner for young professionals.

There, she led the design and delivery of the company's MVP product proposition, as well as the foundational business and marketing strategy, driving growth in the UK, Africa, and India. Before that, Panchawati led the APAC region for The Sound, a brand strategy and product innovation agency. She has led strategy and research efforts across APAC, EU, Africa, and South America working with brands like Google, Pinterest, Netflix, Amazon, and Apple on their brand launch campaigns, marketing and product strategies, and innovation pipelines.

Panchawati earned her undergraduate degree from Jawaharlal Nehru Technology University and a master of business administration from MICA in India. She is a regular speaker at global conferences like the European Society for Opinion and Marketing Research (ESOMAR), highlighting her experience working across a diverse set of markets and methodologies. She will be based in Singapore.