Leaders

As commerce becomes increasingly digital and platform-led, businesses must understand how technology changes customer expectations, commercial relationships and growth. Leaders increasingly need to translate these shifts into practical strategies while keeping customers and merchants at the centre.

This perspective is embodied by Sonia Kapoor, Head of SMB Strategic Growth Accounts at Uber Eats Japan. Born in Mumbai, raised in Tokyo and educated in the United States, Kapoor brings a cross-cultural lens to how global ideas are interpreted across markets.

At Citigroup, she built a foundation in consumer research and segmentation. Gilt marked her move into fashion e-commerce, Salesforce brought her closer to the technology enabling modern commerce, and Estée Lauder Companies connected these experiences across brands, channels and consumer journeys.

Today at Uber Eats, her perspective has expanded into platform-led growth, where consumers, merchants and marketplace dynamics continuously influence one another.

How have your international education and cross-cultural experiences shaped your approach to customers, markets, and business opportunities?

I was born in Mumbai, raised in Tokyo, and studied International Business at Pace University in New York. Professionally, I have spent much of my career translating global strategies into experiences that make sense locally.

Japan has been an especially interesting classroom: a sophisticated consumer market with exceptional expectations around quality, trust and service, yet a distinct pace of digital adoption. That behaviour can also shift rapidly when technology delivers clear value— cashless payments, for example, grew from 39.3 percent of consumer payments in 2023 to 58 percent in 2025.

To me, this reinforces that successful transformation isn't simply about introducing technology; it's about understanding what makes people willing to change their behaviour. I am fascinated by what can transfer globally, what needs adaptation, and what markets can learn from one another.

How has your understanding of digital consumer behaviour evolved from e-commerce to platform-based commerce?

My understanding of digital commerce has evolved alongside my career. At Gilt, I entered fashion e-commerce as digital retail was changing discovery and purchasing. At Estée Lauder Companies, the challenge became increasingly omnichannel, connecting brand websites, marketplaces and online-to-offline consumer journeys.

Uber Eats broadened that lens again. Platform commerce is an ecosystem: consumer demand, merchant economics, marketing, operations and platform incentives influence one another. The question beneath the technology remains consistent: what behaviour are we trying to understand or change, and are we creating enough value to make that change?

What leadership principles guide you when turning data and market signals into actionable strategies?

More data does not automatically create better decisions. I follow three principles: make insights understandable, make the action clear, and never lose the customer or merchant behind the numbers. I focus on the signals that matter and translate them into a commercial story—what is changing, why, and what we should do differently.

A dashboard shows what happened; conversations often reveal why. Strategy is a starting point, with teams empowered to test, adapt and challenge assumptions.

What has helped you adapt across different industries, and which skills have remained transferable?

Moving from financial services to e-commerce, technology, beauty and platform commerce has taught me that industries change faster than the fundamentals of good business. You still need to understand people, identify value, build trusted relationships and turn insight into action.

I do not define myself by one industry, geography or function. In a new environment, I learn the business deeply rather than assume what worked elsewhere will work again. Curiosity has been my most transferable skill—the willingness to ask basic questions, challenge assumptions and keep learning even when you are already supposed to be the expert.

What capabilities do leaders need to ensure technology strengthens rather than replaces human understanding?

Leaders do not need to be technologists, but they need enough technological fluency to ask intelligent questions—and enough human curiosity not to assume technology has all the answers.

AI and data can make businesses faster, more personalised and more predictive, but they cannot fully explain why a customer hesitates, a merchant resists change, or an idea succeeds in one culture and struggles in another.

Technology should expand human understanding and strengthen decision-making, not replace relationships.

What has motivated your career, and what message would you share with women aspiring to leadership?

My motivation has always been growth—growing businesses and continuing to grow myself. My career has not followed a perfectly linear path, and some of my most valuable decisions involved leaving familiar environments to enter ones where I had more to learn.

Being born in India, raised in Japan and educated in the US taught me that identity does not need to fit neatly into one box. The same is true professionally. My message to women aspiring to leadership is simple: build real expertise, stay curious, and do not wait until you feel completely ready.

I have rarely felt 100 percent ready for the roles that taught me the most. Sometimes growth starts by entering the room before you are entirely comfortable being there.

Sonia Kapoor, Head of SMB Strategic Growth Accounts, Uber Eats Japan

Sonia Kapoor is Head of SMB Strategic Growth Accounts at Uber Eats Japan, with experience spanning financial services, e-commerce, tech­nology, beauty and platform commerce. Born in India, raised in Japan and educated in the United States, she has built her career at the in­tersection of global strategy and local consum­er behaviour, grounded in curiosity, commercial thinking and translating customer insight into sustainable growth.