Tag: Interview

In an interview with Manisha Seewal, chief marketing officer at Gumtree Australia, she shared her marketing journey and her experience in overcoming preconceptions about all women working in the automotive industry.

“It was my love for cars and technology that made me take a leap of faith and join Carro, which was a young startup in 2018. I wanted to be part of a change where we use data and technology to remove human bias from car buying and selling,” she shared in the ‘Empowered Women’ interview.

Manisha emphasised, “I think that’s the main reason why we need more women to join the industry so we can start changing the narrative.”

During the conversation with Manisha, we asked about her top leadership strategies in ensuring a successful marketing business of a brand, she shared, “[My] top leadership strategies are: Clarity in communication, leaning on your team and enabling them rather than being too prescriptive, owning up if we make a mistake – leaders are just normal people. We should not shy away from owning up if we make a wrong decision, call it out, learn from it and move on.”

“I think it’s important because as leaders, we lean a lot on our teams, to be able to buy into the vision that we have to be able to drive the strategies together and really grow the business together. So clarity and communication are important,” Manisha adds.

Listen to the full conversation with Manisha Seewal over on Spotify, where she discussed the changes in the automotive industry due to COVID-19. Hear her insights about trends that would shape the future and her advice for marketers who want to be part of the automotive industry. You may also view the highlights of the conversation on YouTube.

If you are a marketing or tech leader who wants to share your industry journey and insights, email us at [email protected].

In an interview with Melissa Sandhu, deputy general manager of marketing communications at Desaru Coast, she discussed her marketing and communications career path, from a young kid discovering the importance of personal messaging to the marketing leader she is now.

Melissa’s marketing and communication skills led her to work in various industries such as the banking and publishing industry, as well as the advertising and real estate industry until she finally landed in the area of hospitality. 

“The ability to bring ideas to life makes me happy, and marketing allows me to do that. I enjoy bridging business goals with marketing outcomes, and I do that by leveraging technology, focusing on value creation and emphasising customer-centricity. And what I enjoy at the heart of it all is the ability to be creative with your storytelling,” Melissa shared in the ‘Empowered Women’ interview.

During the conversation with Melissa, we asked about her marketing and leadership philosophy, she shared, “Part artist, part scientist is how I would define it. Although ROI tends to always be at the forefront in marketing investments, it’s also about fully understanding the brand values, understanding what parameters can be worked around or what parameters can be ‘stretched’, and whether there would be any positive or negative impact on the brand in the long run. 

Melissa emphasised, “This also includes the importance of being fully aware of current and emerging trends, yet having the ability to recognise what would or potentially wouldn’t work for the brand. In developing content, I generally use a 3-step framework that focuses on who am I speaking to, where do they consume content, and how can I make them care.”

Listen to the full conversation with Melissa Sandhu on Spotify, where she discussed her approach to content development and her tips and advice for hotel brands that are struggling to cope with the economic consequences of the COVID 19 pandemic. You may also view the highlights of the conversation on YouTube.

If you are a marketing or tech leader who wants to share your industry journey and insights, email us at [email protected]. 

In a conversation with Charlotte Ward, founder of Agnes Media, she shared her entrepreneurial background, which fueled her desire to one day establish her own business. 

Even as a teenager in secondary school, Charlotte was able to demonstrate this character, when she developed her own business plan and launched her own organic soap company. Fast forward to her professional career, she built the Agnes Media we now have today through tremendous effort, starting as a freelancer and taking contract works.

“I always felt that we can do things better ourselves after working in various large agency corporations,” Charlotte adds.

During the conversation with Charlotte, we asked about her philosophy in leadership, by which she shared, “Empathy and transparency are at the core of my leadership style, I think this is [something many leaders missed], without this, you’re really just a business owner or a manager, you’re not a true leader.”

Charlotte emphasized, “Leadership is not something that I developed overnight, definitely, when I started out my career I was not the best manager and it’s something that comes with mentorship and learning and being able to admit to yourself when you’ve made a mistake.”

Listen to the full conversation with Charlotte over on Spotify, where she further discusses her passion for marketing measurement and the challenges she had to face in leading Agnes Media. Hear her insights as well about the biggest marketing challenge that B2B brands face nowadays. You can also view the video highlights of the conversation on our YouTube channel.

If you are a marketing or tech leader who wants to share your industry journey and insights, email us at [email protected]. 

In a conversation with Raushida Vasaiwala, general manager for Asia-Pacific at Celtra, Inc., she shares her career trajectory and what motivated her to pursue the marketing and tech industry. 

“I grew up in a family of businessmen so entrepreneurship quite comes akin to my nature. So there was this constant internal push of leading business that would help me pursue my varied passion in advertising, brand communication, art, and technology, ” she shared in the ‘Empowered Women’ interview.

Raushida believes that having a different career from the degree of specialisation is perfectly fine, especially if you have developed a new interest or have better self-awareness.

“So essentially love what you do and do what you love,” she remarked.

During the conversation with Raushida, we asked about her marketing journey and her leadership, and she shared, “A mentor in my family guided me to explore digital marketing especially the adtech and martech ecosystem.”

“As leaders, we need to ensure that our teams are upskilled and kept abreast with the latest tools that can help in driving better business outcomes,” Raushida adds.

Meanwhile, Raushida strongly urges marketers to re-evaluate the implementation process of their marketing activities and do a deep dive to look for areas that keep them from achieving their goals.

Listen to the full conversation with Raushida Vasaiwala over on Spotify, where Vasaiwala shares the importance of technology adoption as well as her insights about the importance of creative automation for brands. You can also view the video highlights of the conversation on our YouTube channel.

If you are a marketing or tech leader who wants to share your industry journey and insights, email us at [email protected].