My name is Sapna Maheshwari (pronounced Sup-na) and I’m a business journalist.
Currently, I’m a business reporter at The New York Times where I cover the retail industry. That includes investigations into major retailers, coverage of the labor force, trends in how Americans shop and so much more. Here are just a few of the stories I’ve written and co-written on this beat:
‘Angels’ in Hell: The Culture of Misogyny Inside Victoria’s Secret
How Jeffrey Epstein Used the Billionaire Behind Victoria’s Secret for Wealth and Women
When Is a Star Not Always a Star? When It’s an Online Review
Contact Lens Start-Up, Big on Social Media, May Be Bad for Eyes, Doctors Say
I joined the Times in 2016 and reported on the advertising industry until the beginning of 2019. Here are some of my stories on that beat:
How Smart TVs in Millions of U.S. Homes Track More Than What’s On Tonight
Hey, Alexa, What Can You Hear? And What Will You Do With It?
Chase Had Ads on 400,000 Sites. Then on Just 5,000. Same Results.
This Thermometer Tells Your Temperature, Then Tells Firms Where to Advertise
Previously, I was a senior business reporter at BuzzFeed News, and before that, I worked at Bloomberg News and contributed to Businessweek. I mainly covered major retailers and e-commerce between 2012 and mid-2016 after reporting on corporate credit, stocks and insurance companies.
I won a Front Page Award in 2015 from the Newswomen's Club of New York for a feature on the abusive practice of on-call scheduling at America's biggest retailers. The story focused on Victoria's Secret, which eliminated the policy a few weeks later. Subsequently, I won a Best in Business award from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers for a story I wrote about the dark past of Silicon Valley startup JustFab. That was in the digital investigations category.
Lesser known facts about me: My best friend and I once created a viral Tumblr called Onionlike, and I appeared on Time's 140 Best Twitter Feeds of 2014. I also once won the Punderdome 3000, New York's premier pun competition.
Both of my parents are from India. I was born in Mystic, Conn. and raised a few towns over in East Lyme, Conn. I went to UNC dreaming of a career in journalism, and left with a deep love for business reporting, Chapel Hill and Tar Heel basketball. Send me a note at sapna@nytimes.com or find me on Twitter @sapna.