Rajiv Jadhav: Navigating Digital Frontiers and Spreading Happiness Through Leadership

In this month’s Member Spotlight we are excited to spotlight Rajiv Jadhav a member of the Columbia University Toastmasters Club.

Rajiv Jadhav’s career spans the increasingly complex, fragmented, and disrupted digital world, where he has successfully provided clients with understanding, simplification, and transformation. His career began in content publishing and classic Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) brand building in India, before moving to the US, where he expanded his expertise to include Performance Marketing and lead generation in the Financial Sector. He then founded a specialist Search & Social agency. Jadhav’s journey has shaped him into a media and marketing hybrid, fluent in leading-edge search and social, performance and lead generation, as well as classic brand building. He is adept at applying the synergies of these three disciplines to his roles.

Jadhav’s focus on innovation has enabled him to assist Fortune 500 companies such as Unilever and Citi in engaging with customers in more personal and meaningful ways, thereby deepening their trust in these institutions and brands. Notably, he spearheaded Unilever’s most successful campaign for the launch of Lipton Green Tea in India, a campaign that led to the product selling out nationally in both retail and wholesale markets twice consecutively. This unprecedented success in the hot beverage category—a highly competitive market in India with deeply established consumer preferences—was a testament to Jadhav’s innovative approach. Additionally, he helped Unilever set a record in the Guinness Book of Records by creating the world’s largest online collaborative jigsaw puzzle, which attracted more than 300,000 active users during its peak.

Driving Jadhav is a profound belief in happiness, with laughter and hope being his sustenance and foundation, respectively. His life’s mission is to leave the world happier than he found it, emphasizing that peace of mind is essential. This belief underpins his work at rsquare media, his Public Relations company specializing in Online Reputation Management. Through thought leadership and reputation repair solutions, rsquare media aims to change the paradigm of online visibility, ensuring that public perception aligns with desired personal and corporate identities.

Jadhav’s motivation to join Toastmasters was influenced by the Japanese philosophy of Kaizen, meaning continuous improvement. Recognizing the importance of public speaking in his professional life, from boardrooms to international conferences, Toastmasters has equipped him with the confidence to excel on the world’s largest stages, including the United Nations. His speech at the World Homelessness Summit in 2020, titled “Solving Homelessness by Leveraging Coaching and Technology,” underscored the transformative power of public speaking, leading to a request from Malawi to assist in solving child homelessness.

Rajiv’s journey within Toastmasters and in the broader spheres of digital marketing and philanthropy serves as a compelling narrative of innovation, resilience, and global impact. His story is a testament to the idea that true leadership involves not just excelling in one’s field but also leveraging one’s skills and passions to contribute positively to society at large.