Living Marketing

As global marketing director for Plaza Premium, among the world's largest operators of luxury airport lounges globally, Janis is no stranger to the trials and triumphs of a second year being battered by a history-making pandemic. In spite of all that I'm most impressed by her ability to maintain a work/life model that balances health and happiness with the demands of work, home and family. How does she stay centered? What are her regrets? What does the future hold? All this and more, in my chat with my longtime friend Janis Tse. 

Before she joined Archetype as deputy managing director, Liz was editorial director for LUXE City Guides for five years. I'm a huge fan of LUXE, one of what their founder Grant called "Luxe Lovelies", so it was a fascinating conversation about where LUXE is today, and how shifting patterns of travel information consumption has impacted their ability to grow over the past decade. As usual, Living Marketing is more about "living" than "marketing", so it was a pleasure to hear Liz recount her life of adventure that took her from London to Bangkok, then Singapore and at last Hong Kong. We talked about how they leapt into the City of Angels naively underprepared, how homesickness can be a physical sensation, and how maturity can make us all better romantic partners. 

As head of Corporate Communications for AQUMON, an Asia-based investment platform and roboadvisor, Caroline enjoys an exciting role at the intersection of fintech and consumer marketing. Her path to FSI is anything but typical though, only moving into the finance field after six years in the fashion industry dividing her time between Hong Kong, Milan and Beijing. In fact, Caroline's personal journey is a case study in experimentation. Her first major was Egyptian Archeology, then Law, before finally landing on Marketing. How did she end up with those choices? What was it about her upbringing that allowed her to experiment and make unconventional choices? What was it like dating Italian men? We talk about all this and more... 

As Director of Membership for Hong Kong's hottest new private members club, Carlyle & Co, Kimberly has waited a long time for the club to open its doors because of the pandemic. Personally, she's also navigated a journey without a script to follow, as a biracial American kid growing up in Hong Kong who had to learn Chinese at the age of nine. Walking out of the family business into the publishing business, she spent seven years at lifestyle magazine HK Tatler, before she moved on to become AXA's Asia head of Brand and Corporate Communications. We talked about why she left the publishing business, what it means to transition into the hospitality industry working for the Rosewood group, as well as her experience growing up in Hong Kong as a child between two cultures.

Henry is Asia Head of Marketing for FCM Travel, part of Flight Centre Travel Group. At 27 years old he's also my youngest podcast guest to date, a millennial marketer who has enjoyed a swift rise up the ranks during his five years with FCTG. We chatted while Henry was still in London, working remotely until travel restrictions opened up for him to relocate to Singapore. With the occasional East London ambulance siren as background music, we discussed his views on how Gen Y and X can complement each other in marketing leadership, where British professionals prefer for overseas assignments, and even whether he's for or against tattoo and piercings in the office!

Welcome to part 2 of my chat with Arun, CEO and Editor-in-Chief of PRovoke Media, one of the most respected and widely read trade media of the marketing and communication industry. We start with a rumination over how well-prepared agencies really are for a post-Covid world, then change gears and talk about Arun's personal views on happiness, the various roles he plays in life, and what it meant for him growing up as a person of colour. 

I'm incredibly excited to have Arun as my latest guest. He is someone I've known for decades, a highly respected journalist and entrepreneur who has covered the communications industry for almost 20 years. As CEO of PRovoke Media, formerly known as The Holmes Report, Arun has personally witnessed and written about the countless triumphs and controversies of our industry, and certainly the personalities that make our tribe so interesting. In Part 1 we go back to the beginning, how Arun got his start covering the marketing industry at PR Week, what made him leave his Hong Kong home and relocate to London, how he met Paul Holmes, and what made him decide to join what was then a one-man show. Don't forget to subscribe and join me for part 2 in two weeks' time. 

Julie Purser, Marriott International's VP of Marketing for Loyalty & Partnership in Asia Pacific, is articulate, outspoken, a ton of fun to talk to, and someone whose adventurous spirit I admire so much. She came to Hong Kong seven years ago with her husband and 18-month daughter, and has never looked back. Julie talks about the pros and cons of making friends in a cosmopolitan city where expats come and go, the stresses and rewards for a marriage when making such a dramatic move, and even shares her approach to parenting. Joining Marriott in the middle of a pandemic has been challenging, but not for reasons we may expect, so it's been illuminating to hear Julie explain the hardest part of the experience. 

After years of marketing leadership roles at major financial institutions such as Vanguard and Fidelity International, Audrey Khong might seem like she's been an FSI veteran forever, but her career actually began in FMCG in her native Malaysia. Hopping between sectors has been relatively straightforward for Audrey, who has navigated her career without letting fear derail, whether it's fear of the unknown, or fear of earning the disapproval of others. We talked about the rewards of overcoming those fears, asking questions fearlessly, as well as what it means to be thankful every day. The personal questions of my podcast are rapidly becoming my favorite part, and it's thanks to guests like Audrey who have opened their hearts and shared their life lessons with me. 

As Senior Director of Sales and Marketing for the Lan Kwai Fong Group's hospitality division, Sylvia is a champion of innovating digital solutions wherever she works. No surprise, since she first cut her teeth in Developer Relations for Netscape, one of the key players of the dotcom era that dramatically influenced the Internet's rose to ubiquity during the 90s. She first moved from her native Chicago to San Francisco, then crossed the pond to Macau where she led digital marketing for The Venetian and Galaxy Entertainment Group. We talked about how digitizing customer experience can't be led by marketing alone, which hotels are doing it right, and most importantly, how companies can equip their executives to be digitally literate. 

Tina Chao is Chief Marketing and Digital Customer Experience Officer with McDonald's Hong Kong, but we first met years ago when she was General Manager of Marketing for the Hong Kong Tourism Board, a post she held for five very successful, eventful years. In my fascinating chat with Tina, we revisit her surprising entry into marketing back in her Shell days, her favorite HKTB campaigns, and how her love of Hong Kong has influenced her career every step of the way. What Big Data discovery surprised her at McDonald's? How did she have to improvise during some tumultuous periods at HKTB and McDonald's? What has she learned about herself all these years that helped her become a better marketer? We find out all this and more, with the awesome Tina Chao.   [This episode is in Cantonese.]

As VP of Brand Marketing and Communications at The Peninsula Hotels Group, Carson brings decades of luxury marketing experience with such iconic brands as De Beers, Harry Winston, and Tiffany & Co. to his new role in hospitality. His career has gone through several transitions, from agency to in-house, from New York to Hong Kong, and from jewellery to hospitality. How has he managed the change with every move? What were the frustrations his unconventional family experienced? We also talked about his observations of how luxury marketing differs between the US and Asia, the rewards of marketing luxury versus FMCG, and of course, what he wishes he could tell his younger self. 

Since becoming executive director of the Hong Kong Shark Foundation, Andrea Richey has given numerous talks in schools and private companies, lobbied heavily for major restaurant groups to cease serving shark's fin, and tirelessly championed marine conservation to an occasionally apathetic public.  What was the lightbulb moment that made her decide to devote her life to shark conservation? How does pro bono work give purpose to marketing agencies and what are the business benefits? What does it mean to be a global citizen who calls Hong Kong home?All this and more, in my conversation with the activist they call the "Shark Lady."

Penny Davis, head of Brand, Customer & Public Affairs for Bupa Hong Kong, is an adventurous soul who thrives on new experiences. Growing up on an Australian sheep farm, her globetrotting started in South Africa during her late teens, culminating in Hong Kong just as the Covid beast was rearing its spiky head. Join me as I talk to Penny about her year consumed by the pandemic, her views on how marketing campaigns are differently conceptualized in Australia and Hong Kong, the use and misuse of controversy, and some of her favorite campaigns, including Australian Lamb: Make Lamb Not Walls,  and ANZ Bank GayTM. We also reference my personal favorite, Dumb Ways to Die.And of course, my favorite question comes at the end as always. 

In 2014, Patrick Sun founded SUNPRIDE FOUNDATION, a non-profit that aims to promote a more equitable world for LGBTQ people and their allies, through the exhibition and preservation of contemporary art. He's also made it his personal mission to inspire young, up-and-coming artists to find their voice and channel creative energy towards change. SUNPRIDE has presented two wildly successful exhibitions in Taipei and Bangkok, Spectrosynthesis I & II, and is already planning the next one. How did Patrick make the journey from property developer to a patron of the arts? What have been the challenges along the way, changing hearts and minds in support of the LGBTQ movement? Why doesn't he consider himself an activist? Find out all this and more in my conversation with this remarkable and inspiring individual. 

After leaving a high-flying job with Mars, Inc. in the UK and relocating to Hong Kong with her family, Jennifer Woollford experimented with a variety of different roles before founding NEON Leaders, a collective of strategic marketing leaders for hire. What are the advantages of this "gig economy" style way of working, are there unique challenges when recruiting and onboarding marketing talent deployed this way?

Jennifer Woollford was global brand director with Mars, Inc. before she moved to Hong Kong from the UK three years ago with her husband Stuart and two children. Rather than continuing her rise at the global food giant in an Asia role, she chose a different path. Today Jennifer is the founder and director of NEON Leaders, a collective of strategic marketing leaders sort of like a brain trust for hire, augmenting and extending the capabilities of marketing teams across Asia. What made her decide to walk away from a high-flying career to blaze a new trail on the other side of the world? Join me as I talk with Jennifer on her journey from London to Hong Kong, her thoughts on balancing career and family, and what it means to "lean out."  

Kiri Sinclair is the daughter of the late great Kevin Sinclair, one of Hong Kong's most celebrated journalists, who was with the South China Morning Post for over forty years. Over his career he's interviewed everyone from royalty and captains of industry to rural villagers, and found them all equally fascinating. Kiri is also the founder and CEO of Sinclair, an award-winning independent PR, digital and experiential agency.In this episode I talk to Kiri about how she started Sinclair, what it was like growing up with her dad, how his love of storytelling has inspired her as an entrepreneur. We also speak at length about our mutual experiences growing up in Hong Kong, the 1997 handover of Hong Kong to China, the dramatic growth of China, and what it's like being a “blondest of blond” child in this Chinese city. 

A quick introduction, and why I'm doing this podcast.