About
'Brand' is bigger than marketing communications — it drives how a company does business, creates products and services, and treats employees, customers, and society at large. This perspective has guided my 20+ years as a brand strategy consultant and creative agency strategist working with my clients to grow their businesses holistically.
My strategy expertise spans a brand’s lifecycle and includes brand vision and positioning, brand portfolio and architecture, employer branding, product and service innovation, omni-channel marketing communications, and branded experience. I approach brand strategy like a journalist – having started my career as one at NBC in New York City – by uncovering hidden truths about brands and their customers to create and shape meaningful brand stories.
I also have expertise designing and facilitating virtual and in-person workshops, through a style that is both rigorous and creative – ‘challenging the status quo’ as one client has described – collaborative, and always infused with energy.
I previously held strategy leadership roles in brand consultancies and creative agencies in New York, Paris and across Southeast Asia including FutureBrand, Dragon Rouge, MullenLowe, Ogilvy, the brandgym and my own boutique brand consultancy BGRD Pte. Ltd.
Beyond building brands, I am passionate about building people. I am an experienced team leader with commended ability to create, nurture and manage high-performing teams. I have developed and facilitated in-house and external training programs, and mentored many up-and-coming strategists.
I am now Group Director of Brand & Creative, SEA at PropertyGuru, helping 650 million people across Southeast Asia find, finance and own their dream home with the region’s leading PropTech platform.
Work
Clients have included global FMCG giants such as Unilever and Nestle, as well as Southeast Asia jewels such as Malaysia’s Petronas and Singapore’s Armed Forces, and my experience has spanned several B2C, B2B and G2C sectors including FMCG, Financial Services, Infant Nutrition, Travel & Hospitality, Energy/Oil & Gas, Tobacco, QSR, Government, Telco, Techology and Education.
My work has helped clients win both effectiveness and creative awards. I have also judged for the WARC Prize for Asian Strategy, WARC Prize for China Strategy, Malaysia’s Effie Awards and ONE Asia Creative Awards.
I am now Group Director of Brand & Creative at PropertyGuru for Southeast Asia.
Writing
Whilst there are many ways companies can manage their brand portfolios as they seek new routes to growth, the Masterbranded approach allows the brand to be distinctive, flexible and cost-effective, which are key in a time of experimentation and flux.
Written for WARC.
Brand values align and unite a company’s culture but to be effective they need to be embedded into an organisation’s daily practices and behaviours, as we learn from the likes of Amazon, Lego and Netflix.
Written for the brandgym.
Shake but don't stir your strategy to cut through as Tang, Fevikwik and Singtel demonstrate in WARC's Prize for Asian Strategy.
Written for WARC.
Inspiring examples of brands cleverly creating ways to deliver memorable service experiences, despite the restrictions of life during a pandemic.
Written for the brandgym.
To survive and thrive in a COVID-19-induced downturn, brands should explore strategies to address both demand and supply.
Written for WARC.
Alila shares the magic formula behind its distinctive brand experience.
Written for the brandgym.
Without real substance to support it, advertising risks being ‘image wrapper branding’ - using communications to cover up a mediocre or poorly performing product or service. Being a true brand-led business means branding AND delivering.
Written for the brandgym.
Speaking
Building Brand Trust: Actions that Matter
How to create crisis-conscious brand marketing strategies to navigate through the Covid-19 crisis and subsequent recession.
Webinar prepared for Marketing Interactive’s Business Resilience series.
Managing Brand Portfolio during Recession
Recession-proofing tips to survive and thrive in the downturn with a focus on managing brand portfolio.
Webinar prepared for WARC.
#PressForProgress, International Women’s Day
Discussing the positive gains women in business are making in Singapore and the challenges faced along the way.
Panelist @Salesforce.
Confessions of the Malaysian Shopper
Insights into Malaysian Shopper behaviours vs. Southeast Asia.
Speaker, Retail Media Forum.
Contact
