The Coffee Chat (#16)
My conversation with Samit and Saanwari - Google power couple, ex-advertising agency executives and parents to 13 month-old-baby Reyaan
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Hi there 👋🏽
I recently discovered a very interesting Gmail feature - Gmail has a confidential mode button that lets you set an expiration date to an email.
In the composition window, you’ll find a lock icon with a clock & when you click on it you’ll see a list of different expiration times (from 1 day to 5 years).
So now it is not just your stories on social media platforms that disappear….you can do that with your email too!
☕ Now, on to today’s coffee chat…
Meet Samit Malkani and Saanwari Malkani
Samit currently heads Brand Marketing for Google in SEA & India. He began his career writing television commercials and print ads and then pivoted to the digital world. Samit is considered one of India’s digital marketing pioneer.
Saanwari currently is a Creative Producer at Google. In the past she has been an Adwoman and Entrepreneur - she launched and scaled one of India’s most well-known indie decor brands, PoppadumArt
Last year they also became parents for the first time.
Below is my conversation with Samit and Saanwari …
Please tell us a little bit about yourself and your family
I’m an advertising creative director turned brand marketer. I currently lead Brand Marketing for Google across SEA and India, based in Singapore. I call myself a reader, writer and geek - those have been my passions throughout life. I’m an avid reader, occasional writer and full-time tech geek. I’m also a complete trivia nerd - I believe there’s no such things as a useless piece of knowledge.
Saanwari and I have been married nearly 12 years, and became parents in April 2020. While we were in India, she founded and ran PoppadumArt, an indie firm that designed, manufactured and retailed quirky home decor products, for nearly 9 years. Now that we’ve moved to Singapore, she’s taken up a Creative Producer role on Google’s APAC Devices & Services Marketing team. She’s still crazy about art and interiors, and is always looking for ways to indulge her hobbies. She’s also keenly interested in sustainability, and it’s fast become a way of life.
For you what was the hardest part of becoming a new parent?
Honestly, we struggle to not feel guilty when we’re not with our son Reyaan.
Whether it’s while we’re at work, or when we’re just trying to take a break from the rigors of parenting, so that we don’t completely lose our sanity!
After becoming a parent did you adopt any new beliefs, behaviors, or habits that have most improved your life?
We’ve become more conscious of our fitness. Earlier this year we’ve started to build our fitness routines, working out together. That’s been really good so far.
We were also conscious about not getting overwhelmed by advice. So we have consciously aimed to sift through literature and advice, and keep discussing and discarding what doesn’t work for both of us and Reyaan.
Lastly, Saanwari and I are trying harder to consciously find time to spend with each other.
Did you take any paternity leave? How was the transition back to work?
Yes. I’m fortunate that Google gives new dads 3 months of paid parental leave. Coming back to work wasn’t easy. But my manager was extremely supportive and allowed me to ease back in rather than pushing me to hit the ground running.
Working from home was a blessing too - it allowed us to spend precious time in the middle of the work day with Reyaan. As a result, we haven’t missed a moment!
What choices have you and your partner made that has helped you become a dual career household with kids?
Both Saanwari and I are working. We’re still WFH, and have made the choice to not go into the office despite having the opportunity to do so a couple of times a week. We’ve looked for ways to keep Reyaan engaged, inside and outside the home. We’ve put Reyaan into Montessori infant daycare thrice a week; and set up regular social moments with other babies of a similar age in our condo. Most importantly, we’ve been blessed to have help at home, and we’ve empowered our helper to take care of Reyaan like we would.
What is one of the best or most worthwhile investment you have made after becoming a parent?
Sleep training.
We read up before Reyaan was born, and have worked hard at this, investing serious time and energy to get it right. Totally worth it.
The biggest challenge that working parents with young kids have is a lack of predictability in their schedule and limited time for themselves. How have you managed this?
3 key things that worked for us
Focus on sleep training
Having good help at home, and empowering our helper to care for our son
Being conscious of limited time in the day means we work harder to make time for one another. We’ve started working out together and do regular date nights
What advice would you give others who are on the cusp of becoming parents? What advice should they ignore?
If there’s one thing you should study, it’s sleep training. You’ll thank us later ;-)
Attend pre-natal classes if you can. We did, before the lockdown in Singapore, and it helped us immensely and gave us the confidence that we could do this.
Do what works best for you and your peace of mind, ignore what others say. For example, we were advised by friends to get all kinds of help - doulah, night nanny, lactation consultants, etc. Covid spoiled those plans - but this actually worked out much better. We found our own rhythm, understood our son’s needs better, and were able to set his routine in the manner that we wanted. For example, maybe we wouldn’t have invested in sleep training the way we did if we’d had a night nanny; but not having her means that he sleeps well on the whole today.
Quick-fire questions:
What’s the best thing you have watched recently?
Our son doing the Downward Dog anytime, anywhere! :-)
We just re-watched The West Wing and caught Death To 2020 on Netflix.
What’s the best thing you have read recently?
Samit: Rhythm of War, Book Four of Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive
What’s the best thing you have listened to recently?
Saanwari: I’ve been listening to The Economist Radio, which has been some amazing learning.
I would love to hear from you, feedback is always welcome!
And if you happen to know an inspiring working parent who should be featured in a future edition (or if you yourself are one) - please do get in touch.
Disclaimer: All views expressed are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer