Livia Wang, the chief brand officer of Access Brand Co. (ABC), is one of the winners of the ‘Empowered Women in Platforms’ category as part of MARKETECH APAC’s Empowered Women Awards 2023. Said initiative is MARKETECH APAC’s inaugural effort in recognising outstanding female leaders in the industry.
In her current role at ABC, Wang oversees the strategic direction of the group, as well as using her extensive knowledge of retail shopping trends and consumer demands both nationally and internationally to upscale the business operations of the company.
Using existing industry knowledge to expand brand portfolio and market presence
Under her leadership, she has helped in the expansion of the company’s brand portfolio, which included negotiating new deals for global distribution partnerships with brands like SRW Laboratories and Napoleon Perdis. Said negotiations position the company within well-known wellness categories in the premium product sector.
Moreover, she was also integral in ACG’s expansion into new markets, including Singapore and Malaysia, diversifying the ACG global footprint and reducing the risk of over-reliance on the Chinese market.
In addition, she helmed the management of its corporate and brand strategy for the ACG Group. This is done by leading the international team forward and managing the overall decision-making process for the group in terms of expansion, brand partnerships and brand activations, channel diversification and global people and culture programs.
It has also grown its Access Brand Management (ABM) resellers network from 80,000 to over 100,000 individual retail partners for the company. Expanding this extremely important sales network for the business which is tech-enabled with humans at its core.
Driving visionary leadership through proactive corporate response
Livia’s foray into brand work started with helping Australian brands market products to China. Using the Daigou network, she could see opportunity but was quick to spot the inefficiencies of the system. So she changed the game and developed a new system that solved all of the logistical pain points of the Daigou model. Resellers flocked to the new platform.
Her vision and innovation are what sets her apart from the crowd and within the company, her staff are drawn to her collaborative approach and breezy sense of humour. She sets high standards and asks tough questions, but is supportive in her management style and quick to empower.
In response to the COVID downturn that was challenging for a consumer goods brand positioned, Livia launched campaigns for the company that focused tightly on wellness. At its centre, its health and beauty offerings are about self-care, and this was a red line that could be woven through all of the brands to make them relevant during COVID.
Combining confidence and empathy to empower women
Outside of her corporate role, Wang has taken the time to give back to rising women leaders, donating over AUD 100,000 to aspiring entrepreneurs via the University of Sydney’s Genesis programme in 2022. She loves the opportunity to engage with the students and share in their journeys.
In terms of her leadership, she has been described as a humble but quietly confident leader. She takes someone by surprise with her sharp intuition and business acumen. She’s also a creative, with an instinct for what will work from a branding and marketing perspective. Moreover, she has been described as someone caring deeply about developing a unique company culture with a flat structure and collaborative ways of working.
She has also been integral in building a predominantly female team and makes daily impacts by living the company’s values and mission of “wellness reimagined”. Her leadership is about disruption, innovation and keeping the company ahead of the trends.
“Access is a rapidly scaling global brand management company operating in premium wellness. Our female ACERs are agile, resilient and entrepreneurial, comfortable amid the transformations of a growing business,” she said.
To become a visionary leader, one must require a supportive team who can maintain business as usual. To achieve this, Livia provides the lynchpin for those individuals and teams who take care of the daily management of the global brand business.
Aside from Livia, check out who else made it to Empowered Women Awards 2023 Winners’ list.
