MullenLowe Group Sri Lanka brings on board Dr. Sohan Dharmarajah

XX December 2022, Colombo: MullenLowe Group Sri Lanka (MLG) has appointed Dr. Sohan Dharmarajah to lead a specialized unit that will offer clients access to MarTech services. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Stanford University alumnus Sohan will be at the helm of LoweTech a new vertical under MLG that will deliver value at scale through multiple technology-based offerings to clients within and outside the group’s portfolio.

Complementing the fundamentals of the world’s notable startup ventures, LoweTech will serve as a technology collaborator helping clients to deeply understand complex customer journeys through the application of ‘first principles’, inclusive of immersive thinking, storytelling, and empathy. LoweTech will research, develop, and implement software solutions which can intuitively help marketing leaders to make mission-critical business decisions, meet objectives and drive innovation within their organizations.

Speaking on the launch of LoweTech, Thayalan Bartlett – Chief Executive Officer of MullenLowe Group Sri Lanka said, “we have been working on this new offering for some time and its launch has been set back by two years of Covid. With the introduction of LoweTech we will seamlessly integrate our new MarTech offerings with AdTech which is already being delivered through LoweDigital and will complete a holistic digital offering to clients. Despite the current domestic crisis and looming global recession which is expected to hit us in early 2023, we are launching LoweTech knowing very well that clients will actively seek new ways to generate leads and engage consumers efficiently and relevantly. Sri Lanka lags in adopting new technologies and our focus markets will therefore encompass overseas markets which have shown interest in our offering. I am delighted to welcome Sohan to the MullenLowe Group’s Senior Management Team and to spearhead LoweTech.

Sohan is as an Academic, Innovator and Entrepreneur with the scar tissue to prove it. He holds an MSc in Optimization from MIT and a PhD in Computational Mathematics from Stanford University. His diverse work experience includes tenures at Goldman Sachs, the US Department of Defense and in several startup ventures in Sri Lanka. In 2020, Sohan won the IATA Hackathon in Athens, Greece, against international carriers like Singapore Airlines and Air France. Before that he was co-founder at ODoc, Sri Lanka’s first and largest telemedicine provider. He has also set-up financial outsourcing BPOs to support the US and Australian markets via digital transformation initiatives such as RPA and automated compliance.

Commenting on his appointment Sohan says he is excited to be creating enormous leverage by managing and inspiring engineering talent, inclusive of designers and developers. He also enjoys using AI and high-performance computing to solve problems like automation, credit scoring, healthcare, advanced simulation, and optimization to support MullenLowe’s diverse portfolio of clients with a special focus on overseas markets.

MullenLowe Sri Lanka was established as LDB Lintas in 1993 and was subsequently referred to as Lowe LDB, an agency which comes from a powerful creative lineage. It came to be known as MullenLowe as a result of a merger with US-based network Mullen in 2015. A majority of MullenLowe’s business comes from global FMCG giant Unilever. In addition, it works with some of the country’s leading brands in carbonated soft drinks, banking and finance, insurance, biscuits, milk foods, Tea, FinTech, personal & beauty care products, mobile communications, data and consumer electronics. The group possesses a vast cross-category of knowledge which gives it an edge when it comes to effective work. The Group represents 6 strategic verticals offering expertise in Creative, Strategy Consultancy, Activation, Digital and Public Relations. The MullenLowe Group is known for hyperbundling its offering using its verticals to offer meaningful solutions for brands. The Group has internationally been recognised by Campaign Asia as the Gold Award winner as Campaign Rest of South Asia Creative Agency of the Year in 2018, 2019 and 2022. Further, it has been awarded the Most Effective Ad Agency in Sri Lanka by Effie Awards in 2016, 2018, 2019 and 2020/21, making it the only Agency to win it consecutively for three years. The company continues to dominate the top 10 most advertised categories by 80% and the top 20 most advertised categories by 50%, making it by far, the most influential brand communications company in Sri Lanka.

Thayalan Bartlett – Chief Executive Officer, The MullenLowe Group with Dr. Sohan Dharmarajah – Director, LoweTech (A part of The MullenLowe Group)