Eight CMOs have been named the most influential and purpose-driven marketers in Asia-Pacific (APAC) by Campaign Asia-Pacific and DoubleVerify, recognising their ability to adapt to new technologies, address key issues such as climate change, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and focus on sustainability.
List of Asia-Pacific powers for 2024 Features Fifty marketers across Asia Pacific demonstrated resilience, empathy and a clear sense of purpose. These professionals were recognised not only for managing large advertising budgets and market share, but also for engaging and inspiring consumer communities through their meaningful work and impactful actions. They represent brands and organisations such as FedEx, Jollibee and Cathay Pacific, as well as fintech leaders, payments companies and banks such as Visa, ANZ and GCash.
Top 8 Most Influential CMOs in Financial Services in Asia Pacific
Abdul Sani Abdul Murad, Group CMO, RHB Banking Group
Abdul Sani Abdul Murad is a renowned name in the marketing industry and currently serves as the Group CMO of RHB Banking Group. At RHB Banking Group, Sani oversees the group’s brand and media strategy, consumer research, and all business, consumer and marketing strategies and programs. He is focused on driving customer and business growth while managing the marketing operations.
Sani’s Marketing Career Began He began his career at Unilever, the world’s third largest consumer goods company, as a Unilever Scholar. During his time at Unilever, he managed various business areas and was eventually promoted to Marketing Manager. He played a key role in growing the Hair Care business, propelling Sunsilk to market leadership and winning the Asian Marketing Effectiveness Award for Rexona in 2005.
In 2008, Sani joined HSBC Malaysia as Head of Marketing, a role he held for nine years. During this time, he led a team of marketing professionals and played a key role in the launch of HSBC Amanah, the bank’s Islamic banking franchise. He helped establish 26 HSBC Amanah branches within three years. Under his leadership, HSBC Malaysia’s marketing team was recognized as the best marketing team in Asia Pacific by HSBC’s regional office and won the Best Marketing Campaign award from the HSBC Group Office. The team also received accolades from Putra Brands, Halal Journal and the Effie Awards.
Astrud Burgess, CMO and general manager, data, marketing and customer experience, ANZ
Astrud Burgess teeth Dot Loves Data is ANZ’s CMO and General Manager of Data, Marketing and Customer Experience. He is also a member of ANZ’s New Zealand Leadership Team and Chair of the Board of Dot Loves Data.
As CMO, Burgess Lead He will be responsible for developing and executing ANZ’s brand strategy and will report to ANZ New Zealand CEO Antonia Watson and Australian Retail Group Executive Maire Carnegie.
A member of the ANZ NZ leadership team for 10 years, Burgess began her career as Head of Marketing responsible for the growth and development of New Zealand’s leading financial services brand. She then expanded her role to also serve as General Manager of Data. In this position, she established strategic priorities, built out the data infrastructure and developed the capabilities necessary to achieve ANZ’s data ambitions. Her efforts culminated in the acquisition of Dot Loves Data in March 2023, where she now serves as Executive Chairman.
Additionally, Burgess is an executive sponsor of the GLBTQI+ Network and a strong advocate for women in leadership and a member of Global Women, an organisation dedicated to driving inclusion and diversity for social and economic growth. Her work reflects a deep commitment to leveraging marketing, data and customer experience to drive ANZ success and foster a more inclusive and diverse workplace.
Daniel Jin, Senior Vice President and CMO, Visa APAC
Daniel Zin Jin is CMO and Senior Vice President for Visa in Asia Pacific. He leads innovative campaigns that resonate with Asian consumers with a focus on inclusivity and smarter payment solutions. Jin is known for his strategic thinking, digital expertise and cross-cultural ability.
gin Participated She joined Visa in May 2016 as Head of Marketing for Greater China. In this role, she led the Greater China marketing team to build a world-class marketing capability and develop strategies to establish Visa as a successful challenger brand in the country, while also highlighting Visa’s global strengths.
With over 20 years of experience in both the Asia Pacific region and the US, Jin has a proven track record of turning around underperforming businesses, launching innovative products and executing groundbreaking marketing campaigns.
Prior to joining Visa, Jin served as vice president of the beverage division at PepsiCo China, where he spearheaded the company’s growth strategy, marketing and innovation plans. Prior to PepsiCo, Jin was marketing director for Ghirardelli Chocolate in San Leandro, California, and worked at McKinsey & Co. in Atlanta, Georgia. Jin began his career at Unilever.
In addition to his corporate accomplishments, Jin is also an author with two published books and numerous short stories and essays, and has been a guest lecturer on strategy and marketing. Jin holds a BBA in Marketing from Fudan University in China and an MBA from Yale University in the United States.
Julie Nestor, Executive Vice President and Head of Marketing and Communications, Mastercard APAC
Julie Nestor Executive Vice President and Head of Marketing and Communications for Asia Pacific at Mastercard. Lead Mastercard’s Integrated Marketing and Communications (IMC) team plays a key role in building and maintaining the company’s reputation and delivering on Mastercard’s brand promise to banks, fintechs, governments, merchants, consumers and other stakeholders. Nestor is also a member of Mastercard’s APAC leadership team and Global Marketing and Communications leadership team.
As head of IMC, Nestor brings her diverse marketing experience across Asia Pacific to deepen consumer engagement through Mastercard’s marketing platform, Priceless. Her team aims to demonstrate Mastercard’s value in realizing the power of connected commerce through a digital-first approach, major sports and entertainment sponsorships, multi-sensory branding and experiential marketing.
A Sydney native, Nestor has led marketing teams across Asia Pacific in the financial services, technology and hospitality industries over his 25-year career, including 13 years with American Express in Australia and Hong Kong SAR, as well as stints with Hilton and eBay. Prior to joining Mastercard, he was Chief Marketing and Experience Design Officer for Asia at Manulife Asia Pacific.
Nestor has many years of experience leading successful teams and prides himself on fostering an inclusive and positive team culture. He is currently based in Singapore.
Neil Trinidad, Chief Marketing Officer, GCash
Neil Trinidad I am the CMO of GCash, the leading finance app in the Philippines, and have 20 years of experience in marketing, general management and sales across various industries including FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods), technology, e-commerce and fintech.
Before joining GCash, Trinidad was As CMO of Lazada Philippines, he played a key role in accelerating the growth of the e-commerce platform, as well as in Google Philippines where he was an industry partner to telco, travel and quick service restaurant (QSR) clients, and at Unilever where he managed over 15 brands in local, regional and global marketing roles.
In addition to his corporate achievements, Trinidad co-founded The Feel Good Food Group in 2017, an e-commerce healthy food delivery business with brands such as Ketos of Manila, Eat’s Life Manila, The Sugar-Free Bakery and Get Well Soup.
Neil graduated from Asia Pacific University in 2004 with a Master’s in Communications, majoring in Integrated Marketing Communications.
Ravi Santhanam, Group Head, CMO and Head of DTC Business, HDFC Bank
Ravi Santhanam is the Group Head, CMO and Head of Direct-to-Consumer Business at HDFC Bank. At HDFC Bank, Santhanam teeth He is responsible for driving digitisation and fulfilment of banking and D2C products. He played a key role in establishing customer centricity practices at HDFC Bank by building the National Pension Scheme system across the bank. Santhanam previously led liability products at the bank and managed programmes and corporate communications.
Prior to HDFC Bank, Santhanam was Vodafone’s business head for Uttar Pradesh market. In 2013, he was appointed to head the new business unit – Data, Devices, Content and Innovation in Mumbai. He has also held key leadership roles at Reliance Communications, ICICI Bank and PowerGen across various areas including strategy, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and business. Santhanam is the only Indian CMO to feature in Forbes’ World’s Most Influential CMOs 2020 list.
Santhanam holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Anna University and is a graduate of the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta and Harvard Business School.
Stephanie Ng, Global CMO and Managing Director, Wealth & Personal Banking, HSBC
Stephanie Ng is Managing Director and Global CMO of Wealth and Personal Banking at HSBC. Since joining HSBC in 2022, Ms. Ng has Achieved We have achieved important milestones, including steady growth each year and maintaining an active social media presence to educate other professionals.
At HSBC, she is also the co-founder of the Empowerher women’s mentorship programme, which aims to help women realise their full potential, and she has also served as a judge for various prestigious marketing awards, including the Effie Awards and the Marketing Excellence Awards.
hmm He has over 20 years of experience in retail banking, mortgages, segment propositions, insurance, payments, unsecured lending, credit cards, co-branding, usage and rewards, partnerships, product development, portfolio management, and sales and marketing.
Before joining HSBC, Mr Ng was As Head of Financial Services at Meta, he led financial services initiatives across the Facebook family of apps. Prior to Meta, he was Executive Director of Credit Cards at Standard Chartered Bank, where he successfully led teams across the bank’s cards, payments and unsecured lending businesses in Singapore, Malaysia and globally. He has also held senior roles at Mastercard and AIG.
In addition to her work, Ms Ng co-founded two women’s leadership and parenting groups at Meta that advocate for gender equality, diversity and inclusion, and acts as a grassroots community leader in Singapore, promoting social and community cohesion.
Stuart A. Spencer, AIA Group CMO
Stuart A. Spencer He is Group CMO for AIA and oversees customer engagement, proposition, branding, AIA Vitality, communications, sponsorship, events and digitalisation for marketing. He also sits on the boards of various companies within the group.
Mr. Spencer has a long and distinguished career in the insurance industry, having held a number of leadership roles with American International Group (AIG) and AIA from 1996 to 2009, including Global President, Worldwide Accident and Health for AIG Life Insurance Company, and Global Head and COO of Life, Accident and Health for Chubb Insurance.
Spencer Rejoining He became AIA in May 2017 after serving as CEO of General Insurance, Asia Pacific at Zurich Insurance Group, where he also served as Interim CEO, Asia Pacific. He began his career in marketing with American Express Travel Related Services in New York.
Mr. Spencer is a graduate of Harvard Business School, the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and Brandeis University.
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