Celebrating Malaysia's CMO of the Year: Melati Abdul Hai

Melati Abdul Hai, the Chief Marketing Officer of McDonald’s Malaysia was recently awarded the CMO of the Year 2021 by MARKETING Magazine, and it’s time to celebrate her success!

Working with McDonald’s Malaysia for over 11 years now, Melati was promoted as the CMO of the company in 2018, prior to which she was the Senior Director of Marketing, Communications and Insights. In her decorated career of almost 25 years, Melati has worked with companies like Nestlé Malaysia, PepsiCo Malaysia and Golden Arches Restaurants before joining the fast food giant.

Melati is a firm believer that marketing is a growth driver in its own right. Beyond GRPs and CTRs, she has instilled the discipline and passion around building emotional connection hinged on strong insights. And in turn, gaining consumers’ trust.

She made it necessary to have all their work drive trust and grow market share; work that is not just about advertising but in telling stories that leverage and reinforce strong affinity which the McDonald’s customers already feel, with iconic & craveable food, content people love and engagement that brings the brand down to where it matters most – the community.

Commenting on her big win, Melati told MARKETING Magazine, “This award is not just about me, but about my team and the passion we have for the brand and our customers. Nothing beats the feeling of seeing a young child with a Happy Meal box or someone in mall holding our McFlurry or drinks cup and think ‘Wow, I’m part of that’.”

Besides becoming the Malaysian CMO of the Year, Melati also won the GOLD awards for Best Marketer in Social Media Marketing and Marketing Trailblazer for F&B.

The awards for Malaysian CMO of the Year, Best Marketer in Social Media Marketing and Marketing Trailblazer – F&B are sponsored by Entropia – part of Accenture Interactive.