The Wick Culture - Nishma Patel Robb by Sane Seven The Wick Culture - Nishma Patel Robb by Sane Seven
Monday Muse

Interview: Glittersphere CEO  Nishma Patel Robb

Interview
Nishma Patel Robb
Photography
Sane Seven
28 July 2025
Interview
Nishma Patel Robb
Photography
Sane Seven
28 July 2025
Nishma Patel Robb is Google’s former Senior Director of Brand and Reputation Marketing. After a decade in the role, where she blazed a trail with initiatives such as YouTube Brandcast and Be Internet Legends, Robb went on to found Glittersphere. The platform is dedicated to facilitating female creators, leaders, and entrepreneurs, helping them achieve their ambitions and realise their potential. Robb’s thirty years of experience in tech, marketing and advocacy for inclusivity and diversity have also seen her assume the role of President of WACL (Women in Advertising & Creative Leadership) and of History of Advertising Trust. She also coined The Other AI – Authentic Intelligence™ to reframe how human creativity and technology can coexist. Robb took time out of her busy schedule to share her insights on the importance of creativity and storytelling for technology, how AI is making creativity more democratic, and what fashion designer she is wearing on stage.

THE WICK:   What does a typical Monday look like for you?

Nishma Robb:   I don’t do coffee, I know, scandalous, so Mondays start with a dog walk to clear my head and mentally organise my glitter. I plan content for Glittersphere, events I am speaking at or hosting, and set intentions: which women can I help spotlight this week? My work blends hosting panels, podcasting and strategy, but Mondays are about getting my sparkle straight so I can help other women step into the spotlight too.

TW:   Your career has been focused on digital technologies and storytelling, most recently as a Senior Director at Google and now as Founder of Glittersphere – what has been the biggest technology shift you have witnessed in your career?

NB:   I’ve done the full media bingo card – from Teletext (yes, that ancient thing your parents used to check football scores) to Google, and now AI. The real unlock? Pairing two AIs: Artificial Intelligence and Authentic Intelligence™. We need human creativity, empathy and storytelling more than ever, otherwise it’s just algorithms shouting into the void. I am an AI advocate and am excited at how it will augment our lives and bring new meaning to creativity and storytelling.

TW:   When has art moved you in your career and how are you seeing art and new technologies increasingly fuse together?

NB:   Anish Kapoor’s Marsyas at Tate Modern overwhelmed me – three vast steel rings draped in blood-red PVC, both visceral and sublime. Later, Cloud Gate in Chicago reflected the city and self back at me. Today, tech extends that mirror: immersive works and AI-generated art are dissolving boundaries and making creativity more democratic.

TW:   As the former 101st President of Women in Advertising and Communications Leadership, what is the best piece of advice you have received and would pass on?

NB:   “Do it scared.” Courage isn’t the absence of fear; it’s moving despite it.

“We need human creativity, empathy and storytelling more than ever, otherwise it’s just algorithms shouting into the void.”

TW:   When in London, which gallery or museum are you most likely to spend time in?

NB:   The V&A – fashion, history and rebellion in one building.

TW:   Who is your favourite fashion designer to wear when speaking on stage?

NB:   Roksanda for bold, sculptural colour; Ashish for joyful sequins with something to say.

TW:   What is your favourite artwork or object in your home?

NB:   Two pieces by my late father-in-law, Alan Robb, blending Scottish and Indian culture – personal, profound. And Last Orders by Leigh Banks, reimagining The Last Supper with music legends, hangs above my DJ decks.

TW:   What artwork and book would you be taking to a desert island?

NB:   Artwork: Yayoi Kusama – infinite joy in dots.

Book: Women Who Run With the Wolves – creative survival guide.

TW:   Who is your ultimate Monday Muse?

NB:   Trinny Woodall. Reinvented in her 50s, built a beauty empire, and still swans around in sequins and yellow. Honest, brave, funny. Are we sisters? (If not, can someone introduce us?)


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