Shalini Gopalan

Shalini Gopalan (born 29 December 1960) is an award-winning Indian Indonesian entrepreneur and a renowned Loyalty & CRM Marketing Professional. She pioneered Indonesia's first Loyalty & CRM Marketing firm which was acquired by AIMIA, a global Loyalty & Marketing firm headquartered in Canada.
Gopalan has over three decades of experience as a marketing communications professional and helped set up numerous profitable loyalty & CRM programs for the agency’s clients.
In 2021, she started a line of interchangeable jewelry which is sustainable by design through its unique locking system. 
==Early life and education==
Gopalan was born on 29 December in Madras, India, and hails from Kerala. She was the youngest child in the family and grew up in different cities in India as her father, an engineer by education, was a decorated Brigadier in the Indian Army and received the prestigious AVSM from President Sanjeeva Reddy that recognizes "distinguished service of an exceptional order". Her mother is a homemaker and daughter of one of India's most famous Barristers, the Late MK Nambyar, well recognised for his invaluable contribution to the evolution and development of Indian constitutional law.
Gopalan spent most of her early years in Delhi, Pune, and Secunderabad. She completed her schooling in Delhi, ranking 5th in the All India Higher Secondary Merit List which was published in the Times of India. While growing up, Gopalan developed a keen interest in arts, crafts, and design and later sought a degree in fine Arts from Stella Maris, Madras University. 
==Career==
Gopalan started her career as a junior visualizer in JWT in India when she was 19 years old. After working for five years with this firm, Gopalan got married and moved to Jakarta, Indonesia starting as a creative advisor for Matari Advertising and moved on to become the Executive Creative Director of Bates Indonesia. After approximately five years she decided to embark on her entrepreneurial journey by co-founding an advertising firm called Impact.
In 1996 Gopalan shifted from Advertising to Relationship Marketing and with a small team pioneered Indonesia's first CRM & Loyalty marketing company called Interact. Five years later in 2001 they did a joint venture with Carlson Marketing Group, headquartered in Minneapolis, USA. As President Director of the agency she taught herself and her team this new science in marketing and ran several successful programs for blue chip companies. Carlson Marketing was acquired by Groupe Aeroplan, a global company listed on the Toronto stock exchange. Together Carlson Marketing & Groupe Aeroplan were rebranded AIMIA and in 2013 AIMIA fully acquired Interact Calson.
God Mother of Loyalty & CRM Marketing In 1996 Gopalan shifted from Advertising to Relationship Marketing and with a small team pioneered Indonesia's first CRM & Loyalty marketing company called Interact. Five years later in 2001 they did a joint venture with Carlson Marketing Group, headquartered in Minneapolis, USA. As President Director of the agency she taught herself and her team this new science in marketing and ran several successful programs for blue chip companies. Carlson Marketing was acquired by Groupe Aeroplan, a global company listed on the Toronto stock exchange. Together Carlson Marketing & Groupe Aeroplan were rebranded AIMIA and in 2013 AIMIA fully acquired Interact Calson.
Five years later, in 2018, Gopalan left the company she helped found 21 years ago and started Loyalty Hub, where she continues to help companies with a number of advisory services such as program audits, health checks, loyalty program design /re-design, developing business cases, analyzing data to draw better insights, improving customer engagement as well as short and long term engagements with well known companies like ValueFirst (a Twilio company) and IRIS Jakarta. 
Gopalan is a Mentor at Endeavour.org, a global organisation that helps accelerate high impact startups and was the lead judge in 2015 for the EY Women Entrepreneur of the Year Awards.
Novel line of Interchangeable Jewelry In 2021, Gopalan established ALINI - a line of customizable silver and gold jewelry handcrafted by artisans of Bali & Java. The brand is known for its novel interchangeable jewelry made possible by a unique locking system " TwisTlock" which allows women to buy one piece and easily swap drops to match different looks, styles, colors, and occasions. 
It all started when in the early 2000s, Shalini became involved in a prison rehabilitation project on Nusakambangan Island, East Java, after her mentor was sent there due to a politically motivated decision. During this time, Shalini played a pivotal role in developing a unique jewelry line made from stones that prisoners had been trained to cut and skillfully reworked by experienced artisans, merging craftsmanship with rehabilitation in a meaningful way. The project received support for five years, with the long-term goal of enabling the prisons to manage the initiative independently. 
After divesting from AIMIA, the Loyalty & CRM business years later, Shalini was eager to revive the jewelry line. However, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the passing of her mentor presented significant setbacks. Despite these challenges, the resilience and unwavering determination of the artisans kept her vision alive. This perseverance culminated in the creation of a groundbreaking jewelry collection ALINI that allows women to express themselves like never before, offering customizable pieces that adapt to any occasion or mood.
==Awards==
* Gopalan is the recipient of the London International Award for Television, Japan Advertising Award, Kompas Reader’s Favorite Choice, APAC Loyalty & Engagement Awards and several Citra Pariwara Awards. 
* Best retail loyalty program for MAPCLUB in 2018 
* Won the Good Design Indonesia award from the Indonesian Ministry of Trade & Tourism in 2023 
* Lead Judge EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women in Oct 2015 
* Mentor at Endeavour Indonesia Endeavour Indonesia since 2016 up until now 
==Personal life==
Gopalan is married to Tiku Menon, a successful entrepreneur, avid golfer, big bike and car enthusiast. They have two sons, both currently based in the US. Their older son, Drishay Menon is an entrepreneur with a focus in the tech and music industries. He is also passionate about mentoring startups. Their younger son, Akhil Menon has extensive experience in bringing web and mobile apps to market, as well as leveraging analytics to drive business growth. 
Gopalan is fluent in English & Bahasa Indonesia and spoken Hindi & Malayalam. She lives between her homes in Jakarta and Bali visiting India frequently to see her family. In her spare time she enjoys working out and traveling with her husband. 
==Gallery==
==References==
==External links==
* Official Website
* Official Website
* Official Website
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Category:1960 births
Category:Living people
Category:Entrepreneurs
Category:Businesswomen
Category:Indonesian people of Indian descent
Category:Customer relationship management