Exceptional Women of the World: Sandi Harari

The Drum Arms Podcast

As NYC indie agency Barker’s executive vice president and creative director, Sandi Harari leads up a lean but highly creative team in the country’s biggest ad market. With over 20 years of experience in advertising and branding, Harari’s talents and experience in health and beauty, fashion, film, and lifestyle marketing verticals have helped the agency win over 35 international awards. She also regularly speaks out to encourage the next generation of women in the industry. Understanding and managing people is a part of her job she loves, and her superpower, she says, is her ability to say the thing that someone needs to hear at that very moment in time when she is speaking to them, which is a product of emotional intelligence and her “Brooklyn-ness.” For someone to truly find success at work, she links that to culture and the people they work with. “I think people sometimes underestimate the importance of that ecosystem of people around you in the workplace,” she said. A must experience for her is failure, as it builds not just character but strength, but also learning how to change is important, especially to this mother of two and being in a high-paced industry like advertising. To keep centered, Harari uses the Alexander Technique, essentially a body routine where she learns how to use her muscles in a more effortless way to stay aligned, which also helps her change. Harari is a champion for women and for positive change. She is excited for what's to come for the future of her children and she thinks the world is designed for women moving forward. Ultimately, she thinks people need to be themselves, not hiding who they are and be true.