Priti Dalal, Leading TikTok’s Global Platform Brand Strategy

March 15, 2021

Priti Dalal is Head of Global Brand Strategy, Platform at TikTok. She has been in the media/advertising/tech space for the last decade, having spent time at companies such as Bloomberg Media, FreeWheel (a Comcast company), Thomson Reuters, and The Trade Desk. Priti started her career at JPMorgan, where she worked in Consumer & Healthcare Investment Banking and Equity Capital Markets. Priti has an MBA from The Wharton School and a BA from The Johns Hopkins University.

In this feature, Priti shares how her undergrad studies prepared her for her first role, why she pursued an MBA, key lessons she's learned over the years, and her day-to-day as the Head of Global Brand Strategy, Platform. Read along to soak up her incredible career advice for ambitious women, such as yourself.

Early Career

You received your BA in International Studies at Johns Hopkins University and then started your first job as an Analyst in Consumer and Healthcare Investment Banking at JP Morgan Chase. How did your undergrad degree prepare you for that first job out of college?

At Johns Hopkins, I studied International Studies and was pre-law initially (I even took an LSAT prep course, although I never ended up taking the test). I also took several classes in Business & Entrepreneurship and was a Teaching Assistant for two business courses, which opened my eyes to the world of finance and ultimately investment banking. When it came to extracurriculars, I focused on gaining leadership experience and did several internships to help prepare me for the job. I would highly recommend interning while you are in college to get exposure to various industries and/or roles. It's also never too early to start - I remember when I was a freshman, I opened up the phone book and began calling companies in downtown Baltimore to see if they were looking for any interns, and that is how I got my first internship.

It’s important to remember that no matter how much you prepare, you won’t learn everything for that first job through a class or textbook. I would also say that working in more traditional jobs such as investment banking or consulting allows you to build foundational skills (i.e. reading financial statements, financial modeling, putting together presentations, writing an executive summary) and arms you with a strong tool kit for the rest of your career. During my time at JPMorgan, I worked across two industries - Consumer Products and Healthcare. This gave me wide exposure to different types of companies, sectors, and key decision makers - both internally and externally - that I probably would not have gotten in another job so early on. And needless to say, I have definitely leveraged those skills and learnings in my other roles.

After 5 years in Investment Banking, you pursued an MBA in Strategic Management at Wharton. Why did you decide to get an MBA and what’s your advice to young women considering an MBA as their next step?

I loved my business school experience and believe that my MBA has helped me immensely in my career, especially when it comes to expanding my global network. Since I only had one job prior to business school, part of the reason that I wanted to go back to school was to figure out my next move.

That being said, times have changed and you don't necessarily need an MBA to make career pivots. So, my advice to anyone considering an MBA is to think about where you want to be in 7-10 years and then work backwards to figure out what is needed to get there. Once you have identified your long-term aspirations, ask yourself whether you can get there without a MBA. For anyone who has already decided that you definitely want to get your MBA, I would advise you to 1) think about everything that you want to get out of your two years, and then 2) organize by priority. From my own experience, there is so much going on in business school that you will without a doubt end up with FOMO (fear of missing out). So get a head start and figure out what matters most to you, which will make your time much better and more enjoyable.

After receiving your MBA, you continued your career in General Management at Thomas Reuters as a Management Associate and Bloomberg Media as their Strategy & Ops lead. What key lessons did you learn during this time that helped as you continued to progress in your career?

(1) Build relationships. Navigating an organization is critical for any job, but it can feel daunting at larger companies. Since I was in a leadership program at Thomson Reuters, I was fortunate to have an executive sponsor in each rotation, and often leveraged him/her to introduce me to people that I needed to know across the business. While having someone make the initial introduction is helpful, it is not necessary. For example, at Bloomberg, I often reached out to people that I saw or met in a meeting, or that others told me I should speak to, and set up an informal coffee chat to learn more about their experience.

(2) Learn, learn, learn. Each rotation that I did at Thomson Reuters was only six months, which is not a lot of time to learn the in- and outs of a business. Therefore, I made sure to maximize my time and learnings to get the most out of every single "job" by immersing myself in every aspect/project/meeting that I could. At Bloomberg, I was an early hire for the GM of a newly created business, so that was an opportunity for me to have my hands in multiple areas to learn as much as possible. For example, my role was internal facing, but I worked closely with sellers across the globe. As such, I used that to learn more about the customers and challenges they were facing, as well as in-market dynamics. I also led three Strategic Planning cycles in collaboration with leadership, which allowed me to learn about the business and management's priorities.

(3) Identify needs and add value. From working so closely with the sales team at Bloomberg, I identified a need for a sales tool to help standardize pricing across markets and then proposed my idea for creating one to the Head of Sales. I then built and rolled out a pricing calculator for the global sales team. This tool became something used by sellers regularly, and made a business impact by increasing revenue.

With the transition to Bloomberg, then FreeWheel and The Trade Desk, you’ve entered into the world of media. Was this transition intentional and what’s your advice to young women navigating career transitions?

Yes and no. After business school, I knew that I wanted to be in the media industry - but that can mean a lot of things - so my goal was to get as much vertical experience as possible and gain functional expertise. I started out in a rotational leadership program at Thomson Reuters and spent six months in the Reuters' media business. I leveraged that experience to join Bloomberg as the Strategy & Operations lead for a new business within Bloomberg Media focused on monetizing and licensing content. After three years, I wanted to be at more of a growth stage company and start managing people, so I pivoted to ad tech and joined FreeWheel. I left FreeWheel for a people manager opportunity at The Trade Desk, where I was asked to lead and build out a global team for sales planning, strategy, and marketing.

My biggest piece of advice to young women navigating their careers is to be intentional in your moves. Every time you are considering a move, really think about what you want to get out of that next role - whether that be gain a new skill set, increase your responsibilities, manage people, or get exposure to new markets. Finally, make sure to choose a job where you will learn something new and gain transferable skills that you can apply in the future. Keep in mind the overall story you're aiming to tell, and how every single pivot is basically a chapter in that narrative.

TikTok

As the Head of Global Brand Strategy, Platform at TikTok, what does your role entail? What is your day-to-day?

I lead a team of creative strategists and we focus on brand building, thought leadership, and sales enablement for TikTok For Business, our B2B brand. We leverage data-driven insights for storytelling to educate the market on why and how they should be using TikTok to achieve their marketing objectives and reach their audience. I also focus on supporting the growth of small businesses, which I am passionate about.

Being on the Global Business Marketing team, my role involves working with regional stakeholders across the world on a daily basis. Given the highly collaborative nature of our work, my day-to-day involves meeting with cross-functional and regional partners – whether that be for brainstorming sessions, socializing our work, or seeking input for projects. I also spend a fair amount of time on strategic planning and operational initiatives to ensure that we are building and scaling in the most effective way.

A fun part of my job is the employee engagement and events that we get to partake in. Our leadership provides many opportunities for us to interact with the TikTok community on a regular basis. So that can mean attending virtual events with Creators to understand how they embrace TikTok to create content, or client panels where we get to see how brands are inspiring users and how that is leading to co-creation on the platform.

Advice

What do you wish you knew when you were first starting your career?

It's easy to say now, but I wish I knew that it is ok to make mistakes. Whenever I made a mistake, it literally felt like the end of the world. However, you learn quickly that it is not and everyone makes mistakes. The most important thing, however, is to learn from that mistake and not do it again.

Get an executive sponsor. I would say this is probably one of the biggest learnings I have had in my career - find your people. This certainly does not happen over night and requires building relationships, proving yourself, and working hard. However, once you do, find that senior person who wants you on their team and will support and vouch for you.

Take some risks. I was in IB for 5 years and while I spent time in two different groups, I wish I had left banking earlier. Many of my peers left to go to private equity or a hedge fund, and I knew I wasn't interested in that. Looking back however, I wished that I had gotten some actual industry or even global work experience by living/working in another country.

What advice do you have for young women in their early career who are interested in pursuing a career in the media space?

I want to start by saying that there is no one set path or formula for success and you have to do what feels right and makes sense for you.

(1) Do your homework. Nowadays, we are lucky to have tools such as LinkedIn that are a wealth of information on companies, jobs, and people's careers. Leverage tools like that to do research around career paths and functions. A job can mean different things at different companies - so make sure you do your homework and are speaking the same language, especially in an interview. When it comes to why you want to join a company, talk to people, show that you understand not only what the company is about, how they are unique vs. industry competitors, but also that you understand the culture and can demonstrate why you are a good fit.

(2) Ask questions. While this seems pretty intuitive, it is surprising how often people don't do it, especially when they are new and/or perhaps fear that it may be a stupid question. Firstly, there are no stupid questions, and secondly, being new is the best time to get information, so ask away. As you speak to different people throughout the company, ask them about the business, culture, teams, roles, and their specific experience. Be a sponge and absorb as much as you can.

(3) Work hard, deliver exceptional work, and be humble. No matter what the job is, there is no replacement for working hard and putting out high caliber work. And most importantly, always be humble and respectful in everything you do and how you show up.

Who is one woman you aspire to be like?

I am fortunate to have had many wonderful female mentors and industry leaders to look up to during my career. One leader who I have always admired is Melinda Gates, who embodies charisma, empathy, and perseverance. I admire her dedication to philanthropy and focus on giving back, especially when it comes to how she has taken her own experiences as a woman in tech to inspire and encourage more females to join the industry.