About Justine Dharni

A seasoned professional with a dynamic presence, Justine Dharni has made an unforgettable impact on the digital strategy field. Her illustrious career includes a wide-ranging portfolio featuring work for iconic brands such as Google, Intel, Uber, American Express, and Sony Entertainment. Known as a ‘people person’, she excels in customer-centricity, cultivating workplace culture, and excelling in relationship management. She has held leadership roles in various agencies and made significant contributions to numerous social causes.

Career Overview

Digital Maestro and Creative Visionary

Beginning as an entrepreneurial YouTuber, she quickly transitioned to hosting and producing an international talk show on Sony Entertainment Television, airing in 150 countries with 20 million subscribers. The show featured guests like Vivek Ranadive (TIBCO), Naveen Jain (Viome), Blair LaCorte (XOJET), Michael Mina, and Indian cinema stars Esha Deol and Hema Malini. Her journalism experience led her to host Silicon Valley conferences, including moderating for TiEcon Youth and announcing the TiE50 awards.

With over 13 years of experience, she blends storytelling, creativity, and analytics, driving brands to new heights. As Director of Digital Strategy, her strategic and leadership skills have led to innovative marketing campaigns for Fortune 500 companies in various industries. Her influence extends to notable influencer campaigns, channel launches, strategic partnerships, and significant research initiatives.

Workplace Belonging and Culture advocate

As Workplace Belonging and Culture advocate, she leads with compassion and mindfulness, advocating for inclusive storytelling in marketing strategies. This approach has secured multimillion-dollar deals. She is adept at managing diverse teams, accommodating learning differences, and prioritizing mental well-being.

Academic Prowess

A First-Generation Graduate with Stellar Achievements

She is a first-generation graduate from UC Berkeley and holds an MBA from Columbia Business School. Additionally, she is an IPEC Certified Energy Leadership Coach with a Cornell Diversity Certificate, underscoring her commitment to continuous learning and talent retention.

Professional Accolades

Her academic accolades include being on the UC Berkeley Dean’s List and receiving the Foresters Competitive Scholarship for community service. She also earned the Strong Training & Coaching BIPOC Scholarship. Her work for Intel’s “Brains Behind the Brains” series was nominated for a Shorty Award. An avid writer, she was a finalist in ScreenCraft’s TV Pilot Script Competition and has pitched to WME Partners and other C-suite executives.

Areas of Expertise

Her expertise encompasses strategy development, creative ideation, content strategy, social media marketing, data analysis, new business pitching, team management, influencer strategy, partnerships, legal contracts, video production, customer relationship management, budgeting, financial modeling, generative AI, and research.

Fun fact: Before joining Uber’s marketing team, she drove over 1000 rideshare passengers, using the experience as a mobile focus group.

Charitable Endeavors and Volunteering

She is dedicated to community service, having been a high school tutor and classroom counselor in college. Her volunteer work includes Cycle for Survival, Asha for Education, Pratham, Random Acts of Kindness, Jagriti Foundation, and the U.N. Global Development Agenda.

Noteworthy Milestones

Justine Dharni looks forward to graduating from Columbia Business School in May and plans to continue her education at NYU and Stanford.

Valued Colleague, Manager and Leader

Throughout her career, Justine has consistently proven her value as a dedicated colleague, skilled manager, and sought-after team leader – a consummate professional with a commitment to collaboration and a knack for empowering teams with the tools and leadership they need to succeed. 

Justine’s work as both collaborator and manager has earned extensive praise from numerous colleagues throughout her career, a testament to her character and her ability to build winning teams that deliver results. 

Below are just a few accolades received by Justine throughout her journey in the digital strategy space:

Jenn M

Vice President, Digital Strategy

Justine was a core member of M Booth’s digital management team and really excelled in that position in many ways.

It didn’t take long for Justine to jump in and help the new business team secure new clients leading to $10M+ in growth for the company. She was quickly seen as a strong and organic mentor by the junior team members, which was crucial during the confusion and stress that came with an abrupt shift to remote work. When junior team members needed advice or support, she took it upon herself to help them directly and tap necessary agency resources to arrive at the ideal solution. Sometimes, that even meant jumping in on work that she wasn’t directly responsible for if it meant helping the team and the business.

All of that was accomplished on top of her primary role of client management and digital strategy. She worked on many accounts across multiple industries, but we overlapped most while working with Google. She was responsible for working side-by-side with product and program managers on fast-paced launches, high profile events, and brand campaigns in the edtech space – all during the height of distance learning during the pandemic. 

All in all, Justine has a lot to bring to the table and I would highly recommend her for so many reasons!

Katharina M

Vice President, Research & Insights

It has been such a joy working with Justine. She is a committed team player, ever-curious and thoughtful in her work and always interested in learning about new ways to solve a business challenge at hand.

While working together, it has been wonderful to watch Justine expand her knowledge of research and insights capabilities, including quantitative and qualitative methodologies, as well as earned and social media measurement. She quickly applied her knowledge to existing and new client work, consistently demonstrating her strategic thinking and data comprehension skills.

Justine is highly motivated, always eager to learn and grow, hard working and simply a joy to be around.

Layne H

Brand Marketing Director

I had the pleasure of working with Justine on the Global Social Media and Content Marketing Team at Uber. Justine was a bright light in the office-not only was her positivity infectious, but she approached every single task with a can-do attitude. In our time together, Justine supported me in monthly editorial planning for the @Uber social program, as well as led all agency partner relationships.

I’d recommend Justine to any company looking to add a highly creative and equally organized member to their team!

Howard T

Senior Vice President, Analytics

I had the opportunity to work with Justine on the Intel account at mcgarrybowen! Not only was Justine a pleasure to work with, she was instrumental in the ongoing success of the account.

Justine’s social media prowess is second to none! Her social media content humanized the Intel brand while promoted the Intel brand image.

I’d welcome the opportunity to work with Justine again in the future!

Kevin C

Program Manager

Justine is an amazing colleague and leader. In addition to her consummate professional and interpersonal skills, she’s an incredibly passionate leader in diversity, equity, and inclusion. When I joined McGarryBowen, she was among the first to welcome me with open arms and make me feel comfortable and at home. As I got to know her better, I was continually amazed at the energy she puts not only into her work but her passion for DE&I, driving initiatives both at an office and network level, organizing events, and empowering and supporting colleagues in their professional and personal growth. At the same time, she delivered absolutely top-notch work, helping clients create engaging and insightful content. Anyone would be lucky to have her on her team, and I’m counting the days until I have that pleasure again.

Fun fact: forever a ‘hype person,’ Justine was voted Miss Congeniality by fellow participants of the Miss India Globe program, a badge she wears with honor.

Personal Life and Interests

Justine Dharni is a passionate analyst of TV and films, a writer, and a self-defense practitioner. She enjoys baking, cooking, skincare rituals, meditation, and reading self-help books, believing in personal well-being as a source of strength.

Her journey is a blend of professional success, academic dedication, and a commitment to social impact, inspiring aspiring professionals and demonstrating the power of passion, purpose, and positive influence. As she continues her dynamic journey, her influence is set to extend beyond digital strategy and workplace belonging, leaving a legacy of support for aspiring creatives.