Rushali Khandelwal Resume
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Rushali Khandelwal Resume

Summary

Senior Corporate Communications Manager with close to 9 years of experience in integrated public relations and marketing. Storyteller with skilful and practical knowledge in media relations, content writing, client servicing and reputation management. Handled over 40 clients including a couple of fortune 500 companies. Worked directly with CEOs of leading start-ups in India and helped them develop stories to reach their targeted customer base through influencers, journalists, social media and other mediums

Core Competencies

Media Relations | Communication Strategy | Social Media | Reputation Management | Message Development | Budget Management | Content Development | Image Building | Competitive Analysis | Event Planning | PR Performance Metrics

Awards

o ‘Emerging Talent of the Year’ at Zoomcar and ‘Best New Product Launch’ by Fulcrum Industry Awards
o ‘Performance Appraisal’ at Droom and ‘Spot Award’ for excellence in reputation management strategy
o Won ‘Star Employee of the Month’ consecutively three times in a row at MSL Group for client servicing
o Featured as an achiever in newsletter for ‘Account Win’, ‘Excellent Media Traction’ & ‘Social Media Campaigns’

Work Experience

TiE Seattle Chapter – Volunteer (Feb’19 – Present): Working directly with Executive Director of TiE Seattle chapter on conceptualizing newsletters, press releases, media pitches, events and storytelling ideas for various PR events

Zoomcar (Bengaluru, India) – Sr. Manager, Corporate Communications (July’17 – October’18)
o Executed Series C funding communications plan with investors and internal stakeholders. Organised interviews with more than 50 media houses (domestic & international) which led to 80 media stories
o Launched PEDL, India’s first cycle-sharing service across 12 cities (Tier 1 & 2). Engaged with government officials for press launch at various locations. Contributed 950 media stories adding up to 4% traffic from local regions
o Collaborated with Mahindra Automobiles for the launch of electric mobility. Associated with State Chief Ministers to launch EVs in 10 cities. In a span of 4 months, the demand for EV bookings grew 4 folds on Zoomcar
o Introduced ZAP for car leasing model. Associated with auto influencers and other mediums who evaluated the insights of ZAP and wrote consumer driven stories. In a span of 5 months, on road subscribed cars grew from 0 to 1,000
o Achieved stories with Tier 1 media houses such as TechCrunch, Mashable, TechRadar, The Economic Times & Bloomberg and conducted speaker sessions for internal stakeholders on government and international forums

Droom Technology (Gurgaon, India) – Sr. Manager, Corporate Communications (Mar’16 – April’17)
o Executed press meets for Series B & C fund raise and for products such as Droom History, Credit, ECO App & OBV
o Organised speaker opportunities at TEDx, Nasscom, TiE & Wharton India Economic Forum and created live chat sessions on social media platforms such as Facebook and YouTube to engage with passionate rising entrepreneurs
o Won ‘Hot start-up to work in India 2016’ by Forbes, Japan and ‘Coolest start-up of the year’ by Business Today
o Filed various nominations for which Droom bagged 7 awards; key ones being Red Herring 100 Asia Winners 2016 and Tech start-up of the year (Entrepreneur)

Sewara Hospitality (New Delhi, India) – Manager - PR & Marketing (Mar’14 – Mar’16)
Led a team of 25 people across Marketing, Revenue, Reservations and Operations. Maximized conversion rates through online & affiliate channels that helped grow bookings from 20% to 60% in a span of 1 year. Organised FAM trips with journalists resulting in media stories such as ‘Hottest Hotels in the World’ by CondeNast Traveller and Travel & Leisure

MSL India (New Delhi, India): Sr. Account Executive (Jan’11 – May’13)
Supervised a team of three people taking onus of direct client interface for key clients such as Hotel Marriott, Del Monte, Ameriprise Financial, The Himalaya Group, Indian Head Injury Foundation and Entrepreneur Organization & 8 others

Weber Shandwick (New Delhi, India): Account Executive (Jun’09 – Dec’10) and Intern (Mar’09 – May’09)
Managed account relationship with key clients such as Garmin ASUS, Kohler, Oberoi Group of Hotels, Whirlpool & 7 others

Academic Qualifications
o 2009 Post Graduate Diploma (Masters) in Public Relations and Marketing from YMCA, New Delhi, India
o 2008 Graduate (Bachelors) in English Honours from Delhi University, India
o 2005 Certification in Journalism from Delhi University, India

VISA
L2 VISA. EAD (Employment Authorization Document) approved by USCIS on March 2019. Authorized to work in US (VISA sponsorship not required)