San Rahi

Activist, Brainstormer, Business adviser, Change agent, Designer, Explorer, Foodie, Global soul, Idea generator, Investor, Marketer, Parent, Promoter, Social entrepreneur, World traveler

As a designer, strategist and business growth consultant, San believes passionately in business as a force for good and the power of creativity in all of us. San has been building brands into modern market leaders for 20 years, elevating their leadership and value to the world. He leads as a Navigator. Adept at separating signal from noise, he distils information into insights and builds momentum around a bold vision. With his interdisciplinary skill set, he has innovated across digital, physical and organisational ecosystems, earning him recognition from FastCompany (World-Changing Ideas, 2021) and Campaign US (Marketing 40/40, 2020). As Executive Vice President, Growth & Innovation at renowned creative agency Sid Lee, San blends creativity with entrepreneurship to drive strategic development and brand transformation. Working with multi-disciplinary teams, he develops innovative design and marketing platforms at the intersection of content, technology, and brand experience, for clients across Automotive, Consumer Technology, Entertainment, Financial Services, Media, Sports & Travel. A staunch SDG advocate, San has collaborated with the United Nations Office of Partnerships and the United Nations Development Program. In 2021, he moderated the Forum on Innovation, Technology & Data at the United Nations High-Level Dialogue on Energy. His commitment to the 2030 Global Goals extends to co-founding Elemental, a Venture Studio investing in smart and sustainable cities. He is also currently studying Sustainable Business Strategy at MIT Sloan. Before his award-winning work at Sid Lee, San was Chief Marketing Officer of Aliya, a FinTech enterprise backed by Discovery Capital, helping the under-banked access financial prosperity. His prior agency roles include Head of Content Development at Dentsu Network West, where he developed brand-strategic content for global clients. Before that, he was Creative Director at Dentsu America, leading creative and business development efforts. Dentsu welcomed San to their family after acquiring his Emmy-winning content agency, Thinkc, a first-generation brand-content studio. San serves on the Advisory Board of Aliya, a Financial Technology company, and has served as Non-Executive Director for Hatch, a non-profit focused on mentorship and social impact, and PromaxBDA, the preeminent entertainment marketing organisation. A mentor for creative talent, he lectured at Carnegie Mellon's Heinz College and SCI-Arc. When his phone is off, you’ll find him alone in his kitchen or on his Triumph Tiger, being lost.

Open innovation to advance the SDGs; Fuelling my creativity constantly; Nurturing human talent; Cooking on wood fires; Fostering opportunities for the underserved; Being lost on my motorbike; Sustainable city design and innovation; Seeing the world as an outsider; Modernist Furniture; Business as a force for good; Any grape juice from Hermitage.

Consumer adoption is vital to the sustainability mission, and brands have the platforms and resources to motivate behaviour change. But influencing consumer behaviour is complex, and good storytelling is often more convincing than sound engineering.

Brand Innovation, Design, Growth Strategy, Marketing, Storytelling, Sustainable Business Strategy

It is a pivotal time for our planet, and we each have a role in replenishing our ecosystems, societies, and economies. From a professional point of view, now is the best version of me: the sum of my experiences, skills, insights, and ambitions. It's now time I serve. I've been privileged to attend several TED events, including most recently a TED Salon in partnership with UNDP. I've witnessed first-hand the irrepressible power of a like-spirited community intent on building positive momentum. TED2022 will be a transformative experience, from which I will emerge more robust and more persistent in this mission.

Slowly braising short-ribs until they melt basically.