Ritvik Sharma
About

Ritvik Sharma

Head of Data · Saudi Research & Media Group (SRMG)

Data and analytics leader with 13+ years across the UAE and KSA, working with media, government, telecoms, financial services, real estate, hospitality, events and early-stage technology. I move organisations from manual reporting to automated, governed and predictive intelligence — strategy, platform, team and partners.

Based in
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Education
University of Michigan · Michigan State University
Community
MeasureCamp Dubai · LEAD podcast
LinkedInGet in touch
Portrait of Ritvik Sharma
Profile

I’m Head of Data at Saudi Research & Media Group (SRMG), the largest integrated media group in MENA. I lead analytics and first-party data strategy across 35+ media brands reaching 172M+ people — one governed measurement standard, real-time reporting across the portfolio, and ML and GenAI pipelines in production.

Before SRMG I founded and led the Data & Analytics department at Chain Reaction (Publicis Groupe) in Dubai, securing a Google Marketing Platform partnership and building a client portfolio across media, telecoms, financial services, startups and government. Earlier, at Jumeirah Group and Armani Hotels, I built the experimentation, personalisation and data automation practices I still draw on.

My work sits at the intersection of AI implementation, data infrastructure and large-scale digital transformation, always with a focus on measurable, real-world outcomes. I hold a Master of Applied Data Science from the University of Michigan and a bachelor’s in Media and Communication Technology from Michigan State University.

Outside work I organize MeasureCamp Dubai, host the LEAD podcast, and speak at industry events. Until 2025 I was part of the IAB MENA Measurement Taskforce, where I co-authored the Privacy Landscape in MENA report.

Experience

13+ years across the UAE and Saudi Arabia

  1. Jul 2025 – Present

    Head of Data

    Saudi Research & Media Group (SRMG) · Riyadh, KSA

    Data strategy and analytics transformation for the largest integrated media group in MENA — 172M+ audiences across 35+ brands.

    • Lead data strategy across the group’s business verticals — Media, International, Events, and Research & Innovation Labs — building cross-functional partnerships so decisions in every unit run on shared data.
    • Assessed the analytics infrastructure to set a maturity baseline and a roadmap for AI/ML capability, moving the group from retrospective reporting toward predictive insight.
    • Own one measurement methodology across 35+ brands: KPI definitions, UTM and campaign tracking standards, and data capture validation that make portfolio figures consistent and defensible.
    • Replaced manual monitoring with a real-time reporting platform on the Google Analytics Real-Time API, Cloud Functions and Storage, covering 30+ brands.
    • Put ML and GenAI into production: K-means clustering and open-source LLMs classifying and labelling 300,000+ articles for content intelligence.
    • Developing first-party data activation — SRMG Audience Studio segments and activates web and app audiences across the portfolio for insight and monetisation.
    • Delivered automated search trend monitoring and scalable reporting for government clients including the Ministry of Energy, KSA.

  2. Jun 2022 – May 2025

    Director, Data and Analytics

    Chain Reaction (Publicis Groupe) · Dubai, UAE

    Founded and led the agency’s Data & Analytics department — a team of four specialists and a client portfolio across media, telecoms, financial services, startups and government within six months.

    • Secured Google Marketing Platform partnership in Analytics, positioning the agency as the region’s certified analytics consultancy; key clients included Etisalat, DIFC, Apparel Group and MDLBeast.
    • Migrated 50+ client websites to GA4 and integrated offline CRM data into unified customer intelligence platforms.
    • Built attribution models in BigQuery and deployed AI/ML — Gemini, BigQuery ML — to quantify and reallocate marketing investment.
    • Ran A/B testing, Hotjar session analysis and experimentation programmes across client sites, delivering 180% conversion uplift.
    • Automated reporting on Google Cloud and Funnel.io, releasing 400+ hours a month from report production to analysis, and set data governance standards across the practice.

  3. May 2016 – May 2022

    Assistant Manager, Analytics and E-commerce

    Jumeirah Group · Dubai, UAE

    Analytics, experimentation and e-commerce product management across the group’s hotel portfolio.

    • Built a lead-time based audience strategy that took display remarketing from zero to the most profitable acquisition channel — 200% ROAS across 20+ properties and 25,000+ creative variants.
    • Drove 80% mobile and 20% desktop conversion uplift through UX optimisation, personalisation and upsell strategies across three site evolutions.
    • Led A/B testing programmes in Google Optimize, achieving 30% conversion rate uplift across key booking and engagement funnels.
    • Pioneered data automation on BigQuery, Google Cloud and Python monitoring tools, laying the foundation for advanced analytics across the group.

  4. Apr 2014 – Apr 2016

    Digital Marketing Executive

    Armani Hotels · Dubai, UAE

    Built the digital marketing capability for Armani Hotel Dubai and At.mosphere Burj Khalifa.

    • Conceptualised and delivered two bespoke websites for Armani Hotel Dubai (Burj Khalifa) and At.mosphere, the Guinness World Record holder for the world’s highest restaurant.
    • Elevated guest engagement through tailored CRM email marketing, integrated into a cohesive customer journey.
    • Used Google Analytics, Radian6 and Socialbakers for performance monitoring, social listening and brand sentiment analysis.
    • Managed agency selection across creative, media and technology vendors through structured briefs, pitches and SWOT analysis.

  5. Feb 2013 – Mar 2014

    Event Technician and Co-founder

    Occasion Live · India

    Built a live-streaming platform for business events, from hardware setup through to client interfaces.

Education

Michigan, twice

Master of Applied Data Science

University of Michigan · 2023

Bachelor in Media and Communication Technology

Michigan State University · 2012

Capabilities

Strategy, platform, team and partners

Transformation & governance

Data strategy & roadmaps, KPI frameworks, single source of truth, data quality standards, operating models, vendor & partner management.

Platforms & engineering

BigQuery (SQL), Google Cloud, Looker Studio, Funnel.io, Firebase, GA4, Adobe Analytics, Sitecore CDP, Python.

Modelling & AI

Forecasting, segmentation & clustering, attribution, BigQuery ML, LLM / RAG applications, MCP servers, model governance.

Measurement & compliance

Measurement frameworks, experimentation, journey analysis, data privacy & consent, third-party data confidentiality.

  • BigQuery
  • Google Cloud
  • Google Analytics 4
  • Google Tag Manager
  • Looker Studio
  • Firebase
  • Gemini
  • Python
  • Adobe Analytics
  • Sitecore CDP
  • Hotjar
  • HubSpot
Awards

MENA Digital Awards 2024 — Best Use of Data

The MENA Digital Awards, Dec 2024 · for DIFC

Certificates
  • Google Analytics IQ
  • GA Implementation with GTM
  • Digital Analytics Fundamentals
  • Privacy for Agencies and Partners, Google
  • HubSpot Marketing
Building

  • The New Gulf Playbook

    A contributor-led publication with an AI-powered editorial and moderation journey.

  • Custom MCP servers on Firebase

    Powering SRMG Audience Studio.

Kind words

What people say

I had a lovely talk with Ritvik Sharma on the LEAD podcast. We chatted about analytics practices, GA4, server-side, and more.

Simo AhavaCo-founder at Simmer

Super-cool use of technology! Ritvik Sharma created an easy tool to produce personalized images for #Measurecamp events.

Adam GrecoProduct Evangelist at Amplitude

I had an incredible experience working with Ritvik to enhance our data-driven growth strategy. His in-depth knowledge helped us implement technical solutions to gain valuable insights into our user experiences.

Fares SamaraCTO at Ostaz

I highly recommend Ritvik! He and his team have done an outstanding job helping us set up our tracking and analytics. Thanks to them, we’ve made our marketing campaigns way more effective.

Thomas MathewMarketing Lead at Letswork

Ritvik has a deep understanding of Digital Marketing and E-commerce optimization. He is highly inquisitive, innovative and has an eye for detail. We were able to achieve remarkable improvements on Conversion and Revenue.

Rahul SahuDigital Strategy Consultant at Cognizant
Get in touch

Let’s talk data

Whether it’s data strategy, analytics implementation, a speaking slot or a community initiative — I’m always happy to connect.

Contact me LinkedIn