Meet the CEOs: Orion Digital's Shanker Joyrama

Before founding Orion Digital as CEO, Shanker Joyrama (pictured) had no prior experience in running or even working in an agency. Stepping foot into the creative and advertising industry with only a burning fascination with consumer behaviour and how advertising captures the mind and heart, his first real exposure to advertising was running Orion Digital.

However, what seemed like a crippling disadvantage was a silver lining for Joyrama ultimately. The lack of experience  was what allowed him to deviate from the dogmas of more traditional advertising agencies.

As a leader, he seeks to create an open, progressive, and trusting culture in the workplace, encouraging his staff to take pride in their own work. In particular, his experience in Digi has laid the foundation for the approach he has taken for his team, as he learnt the ways from one of the most progressive companies in terms of talent management and culture, he explained.

Even beyond colleagues and staff, Joyrama told A+M that the agency brings a different approach to clients. With a background in business, marketing, and finance, according to his LinkedIn, he was able to adopt the best and most effective practices from other businesses, before fitting them into the context of a creative agency.

With an open way of thinking and an unorthodox manner of execution, Joyrama said he has taken Orion Digital to greater heights over the past 10 years.

Find out more about Joyrama’s journey in the creative industry, as well as his personal life outside of work!

A+M: What was your first job?

Joyrama: My first job was actually as a management trainee at Citibank doing credit card marketing. Citibank was a great place as a fresh graduate as it was a very structured environment. They were already doing many things ahead of the competition and it was a work hard, play hard culture. This was 2007 so we were still using desktop computers (fresh graduates didn’t get laptops).

I used to work almost daily from 10am to 11pm at the office, and plenty of times I had to dash to the LRT station to catch the last train home at 11.30pm. However, I remember telling my friends that I had so much fun as we had parties, events, and celebrations perhaps every two weeks (if not every week). So work really hard, and play really hard too!

A+M: Who was the mentor who influenced you the most and how?

Joyrama: This would be my Dad. He’s a lawyer and a tough cookie on the outside however once you get to know him, he’s got a lot of heart and love inside. What really influences me is his work ethic and tenacity. I used to see him working every night after dinner on his laptop and I guess that was ingrained in me (I do the same every night now).

Even until today, he’s still learning new things and our conversations are about crypto, blockchain, DeFi, ECF and the likes. I really do admire him for his progressive attitude to keep on learning and it’s something I tell myself too every day - to keep on pushing and learning and being a better version of ourselves with each passing day.

A+M: What's the harshest criticism you've received and how did you cope with it?

Joyrama: Perhaps I’ve been told that I’m not a realist? I’m an eternal optimist by nature so I’ve been told that I may not have a pulse on the actual severity of the situation. In reality, at the back of my head I know everything that I’m facing can be overcome and can be looked at from a different perspective.

A criticism today is a chance for you to evaluate and make changes for the better. It’s all up to us to assess, evaluate, think and decide who we want to be for ourselves.

A+M: Describe your own management style now as a leader.

Joyrama: I think of myself as someone that has a very open style of management. I put a lot of faith and trust in my team and we’re here to make things work together as a team, so it’s all about bringing together different ideas, different opinions, and different creative strategies to the fold. One thing I tell newcomers to the team is that we’re here to do awesome happy work and we all want to go home happy. So let’s just do that together!

A+M: What's one thing you wished employees understood about being a leader?

Joyrama: We’ve been pretty lucky with our team members, and if there’s something I wish the team understood more about would be seeing things from a macro perspective as well as from a longer time horizon. We’re all tuned to be instantly gratified; however, the best relationships and connections take time to bond.

A+M: What do you do during your free time?

Joyrama: I’ve got two hobbies and that’s mountain biking and cars. So I typically spend by weekends at Bukit Kiara doing mountain biking or driving around on the B-roads of Malaysia visiting smaller towns and having a taste of the local fare. I love nature so I also really enjoy doing walks in the parks and just absorbing all the fresh energy from Mother Nature and the sun.

A+M: Where do you find your inspiration?

Joyrama: I find inspiration in every day things and moments. I’m always aware - observing and absorbing energy from conversations, situations and things I read and hear about. To me ideas come at any time, however, it’s also an art of realising them in our heads and then translating that into our lives and into our work.

A+M: If not in advertising, where would you be?

Joyrama: I’ll most likely be running a startup and doing something I could call my own, I love the freedom of being an entrepreneur and as much as it comes with accountability and stress, it also brings immense joy to me to build something from scratch and to grow it.

A+M: What advice do you have for someone looking to start a career in the industry?

Joyrama: I think there’s three pieces of advice I’d give someone.

Firstly, always do things with passion and with heart. Secondly, do things with great tenacity and energy. Lastly, always think long term - it will always pay off.

A+M: What issue would you like to see the industry change in 2022?

Joyrama: Again perhaps a few things.

Agencies need to have more accountability for the work that we do; to do things the right way instead of just getting things done.

Clients should also get off their high horse and work with agencies as partners and not as vendors. If you like us and vibe with us then let’s brainstorm together to make things work. I especially appreciate clients that approach us and say they are looking for partners and genuinely have a heart when they speak to you.

Talent doesn’t come cheap so it’s high time the industry recognises this and change the way costs and work are structured; it’ll help the industry in the long run.

Wong Yee Ching contributed to the story.