• by Lisa Singer , Staff Writer, April 12, 2024

Merck's Sayali Kadam talks about being true to oneself, adapting for the good of her team, and her foodie passion.

I've had the opportunity to connect with and learn from executives of major brands at MediaPost's Insider Summits. In the process I've discovered some truly impressive women -- not only for the work they do, but their stories behind the scenes. With Brand Insider: BTS, I get to pull back the curtain on some of the most influential women marketers as they talk about their path to success: the twists and turns, obstacles, inspirations and the valuable lessons learned along the way.

“It really forced me to grow up quickly, but it was one of the toughest times of my life to ever leave, I never left home before…but it pushed me to grow quickly. It pushed me to become independent quickly. It pushed me to adapt quickly to an entirely new country, an entirely new culture.” Sayali Kadam was the first person in her family to leave India, and as scary as that was, she sees it as the defining moment that helped make her who she is today. The director of commercial agility & launch at Merck goes on to say that her driving force at the time was, simply put, to make something of herself. In this episode of Brand Insider: BTS, Sayali talks about the experience and credits her mom for giving her the push to venture off on her own. She also opens up about learning to speak her mind, her love for travel, and the importance of giving back. You can watch the entire conversation here: