In conversation: Can growth have a structure?

In this new Marketing Connected podcast series “In conversation”, MARKETING-INTERACTIVE will be diving into conversations with experts and brilliant minds in the advertising, marketing, and media industries. This second episode features Manisha Seewal, group president of Redhill, a global communications agency.

Seewal’s entry into public relations wasn’t traditional. She began her career on the media agency side before moving into client-side roles across tech and startups. It was during an interview for a head of marketing position at Tokio Marine Insurance (Asia) that she was told she needed PR experience. She took on the challenge, learning the ropes under the guidance of her mentor, former Edelman CEO Amanda.

She later went on to lead marketing at Carro, a company which scaled up into a unicorn. After helping scale the automotive marketplace company, Seewal began exploring her next move, and Redhill came calling. A strong connection with founder Jacob Puthenparambil and the agency’s rapid regional expansion made the decision to join an easy one.

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Since stepping into her role in 2023, Seewal has been focused on helping Redhill evolve from fast growth into structured, sustainable business. That includes ambitious targets including a potential IPO, as well as possible expansions into new regions such as Eastern Europe and Mongolia.

However, growth at that pace doesn’t come without structural strain. Bringing alignment across markets, teams, and leadership styles has required difficult decisions, especially for a company that scaled quickly, and sometimes, unevenly.

When Seewal joined Redhill, one of the first things she noticed was a disconnect in internal communication. Despite being a communications agency, the company had grown so fast that many of its systems hadn’t kept up. She implemented regular one-on-ones and regional catch-ups, supported by templates that prompted leaders to reflect on what really mattered.

“It sounds simple, but it wasn’t,” she shared. “When a company’s in hypergrowth mode, everyone’s chasing top-line revenue. That’s where all the attention goes.”

For Seewal, that wasn’t enough. She wanted teams to think beyond revenue and consider margins, sustainability, and long-term value creation. To make that happen, she restructured the senior management’s compensation framework, tying it directly to profitability, not just growth. She added:

I was brought in to make the agency growth sustainable, and always focusing on the top line is not going to make it sustainable.

It wasn’t a popular move at first. “Some aligned, some didn’t,” she said plainly. Nevertheless, the outcome has been positive. Today, Seewal says the agency is in a healthier position than when she first stepped in.

Part of her approach is driven by clarity of purpose. She sees herself as a steward of the company’s future, not someone there to appease. “I’m not here to make friends. I’m here to make the right decisions for the business. If I can look back three years from now and still believe it was the right call, then I know I’m on the right track.”

The bigger vision, however, goes beyond just day-to-day performance. With better margins, Seewal sees opportunities to invest in training and sending staff overseas for development. She said, that Redhill might even explore building new products, possibly with AI, but it all starts with having the financial breathing room to do so.

As Redhill continues to chart new markets and deepen its regional footprint, Seewal’s approach blends ambition with operational rigour. While the goals are bold, the path forward is being built with intention and structure.

Tune into the rest of this conversation on your favourite podcast platforms, by searching up Marketing Connected. For all the visual people out there, we’ve got your back as well, with our vodcasts on YouTube.

Join us on 20 August at PR Asia 2025 and take charge of the new era of PR. Tackle trust head-on, stay ahead of shifting policies, and harness AI to power up your comms game. Get inspired, get connected, and get future-ready. 

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