(Marketingmagazine.com.my) – We meet the man everybody says has been keeping silent. Till about a month ago, he was President of IPG Mediabrands World Markets Asia, a company in charge of managing and investing US$37 billion in global media assets on behalf of their clients. Currently, in between jobs, his reputation as a giant-killer when it comes to new business pitches in the industry has been nothing short of stellar. Today he tells us he is ‘looking forward to the next inspiration’….
You left the media madness a month now. What are we missing?
The mythical cycle of life is not a hamster wheel. Doesn’t have to be. The journey from the invention of the first wheel to cyclotron and hyper loop to vicious and virtuous cycles to the circular logic that dogs such civilisational paradoxes as to whether the chicken came first or the egg, happened because some mutants were too restless. I plan to earn that tiny bit of respect by indulging my own restlessness. But breaking out requires looking within. So am trying to get lost before I find a new myself.
Do you spend more time looking up than looking down these days?
Never been a look down guy. The trick is to keep your feet down and stretch every sinew and synapse of your body as far up as possible. At least you can see far and beyond. Isn’t that what living full is about?
Does the metaphor work with your forward plans?
Oh so totally. The metaphor is the plan. And the plan the metaphor.
Have you ruled out selling life insurance as a career?
Respectfully, selling life insurance is highly underrated by the overrated. I am the type who’d rather get wet once in a hundred days than carry an umbrella each one of the hundred days. Plus it can be fun getting wet!
Are you going to Cannes Lions this year?
No. My wife already didn’t believe I went there half a dozen times to earn precious knowledge and service critical clients. Now I can’t even say it’s a global mandate. I need to seek a fresh mandate from her. For next year.
What advice would you give industry leaders who spend more than 12 years in the same company?
I am proud of you. You were born to serve in your company. Just make sure the company doesn’t change you, while you are not changing the company – in ways you don’t like. And by the way, don’t blame the company.
Do you love gardening?
Opinions differ. I think I love gardening. My wife thinks I love gardening, when she is doing it. I do think though that there is a farmer inside me. Someday I will indulge my plough, for sure.
What do you pray for each night?
For those around me, who need help and I can be of only limited help to them. I seldom pray for myself. It would be embarrassing after all that God has given me.
What books have you read the past week?
I have been re-reading a compilation of poetry by Nazim Hikmat. He is Turkish and there is something Steve Jobbish about him. He evokes new intuitive experiences with breathtaking simplicity. And he can be hopelessly hopeful.
APPIES Malaysia 2016 Marketing Conference open for registrations!
‘2-day MBA’ in Marketing, ‘TED of Marketing’, call it what you will, and come what may, we will see you on May 19 & 20 at the Eastin Hotel.
• 36 latest Marketing Case-Studies
• 22 marketing leaders as Judges
• 3 top-notch Keynote Speakers
* 4 Game-Changing Panel Speakers
Says Chief Judge Adam Wee Abdullah, Group CMO of CIMB Banking Group about judging the entries, “Clarity in the Objective statement is fundamental. If this is not clear, the solutions will not be clear as well. It is also important to juxtapose the expected outcome against the Objective statement so you can gauge if the strategies are aligned. It’s a bit like looking through the scope of a sniper’s rifle.”
Date: 19 & 20 May, 2016
Venue: The Grand Ballroom, Eastin Hotel Kuala Lumpur
Time: 8.30am – 6.00pm
To register, go to APPIES REGISTRATION.
Download full brochure here.
Or contact Ruby on 03-7726 2588, [email protected]
APPIES Malaysia 2016 judges:
• Abdul Sani Abdul Murad – Head of Marketing, HSBC Malaysia
• Ben Mahmud – Head of Retail Marketing, Shell Malaysia Trading
• Eric Wong – Marketing Director, IBM Malaysia
• Fiona Liao – Chief Brand Officer, Prudential Assurance Malaysia
• Jasmine Lee – Chief Marketing Officer, U Mobile
• Jauhar Munir Shaikh – FVP, Brand Marketing for F&N Malaysia
• Loh Keh Jiat – CMO, Digi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd
• Mark Ng – ASEAN Marketing Director, Castrol
• Martin Soong – Marketing Manager, Fonterra Brands Malaysia
• Matthew Ho – R
egional Digital Marketing Director, Huawei Technologies Malaysia
• Nirinder Singh Johl – GM of Strategic Communications, Tenaga Nasional Berhad
• Noreen Sabrina – Head of Brand Communications- Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC)
• Pan Choi Yen – GM of Marketing, WIPRO-UNZA Malaysia
• Philip Whittaker – Group Chief Marketing Officer, Themed Attractions & Resorts
• Rizan Ismail – Head of Brand Management, PETRONAS
• Santharuban T. Sundaram – Group Marketing Manager, Permanis Sandilands
• Stephane Vilquin – Marketing Director, Campbell Soup Southeast Asia
• Syahar Khalid – Digital Engagement Manager, Nestlé Products Malaysia
• Vincent Chong – Marketing Director of Unilever Malaysia
• Zaki Zin – Marketing Director, Wyeth Nutrition Malaysia
• Zalman Aefendy Zainal Abidin – Chief Marketing Officer, Celcom AXIATA
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