Who? Radhe Vaswani

COO, Global Clients, MullenLowe Profero Singapore

What? Named to CampaignAsia’s 40 Under 40 for her achievements in Digital Transformation.

Back story… Rock-raised Radhe Vaswani, a graduate of Hillel Prep and High left Jamaica to live and work in a first-world environment. The Hillel Academy alumna does, however, return home frequently as “it helps to keep [me] grounded, as well as nurture my spirit… My family, especially my dad, mom, brothers and aunts have been my greatest supporters and influencers regardless of location. They have helped to feed my curiosity for learning, travel, business, technology and exposing me to the right things in life”.

It was… no walk in the park! It did not come easy, and as many have had to do, hard work and dedication pay off.

Radhe was influenced by the digital world at seven years old… I volunteered on one of my father’s Rotary initiatives. He started an IT centre for one of the largest all-girls’ schools in Jamaica. Building upon this exposure, I pursued a career in online marketing which offered the perfect mix of business, creativity and an opportunity to communicate with various cultures.

Her first major foray into a multi-cultural campaign was… the US Census 2010, managing 14 partner ad agencies. The campaign won major awards. The final mail-back rate was 74 %, saving US taxpayers some US$85 million in operational costs. Vaswani then moved into a global role at Profero New York, working on Fortune 100 clients including Diageo, Lufthansa and Unilever.

One of her main clients was… Smirnoff (Diageo), for whom she managed the digital platform development of Smirnoff.com across 180 markets. She also led the Global Nightlife Exchange digital campaign with Madonna, which operated across 50 markets. During the campaign, the Smirnoff community increased +400% in six months up to 10 million fans.

Her global career with MullenLowe Profero… spans seven years, two continents and three markets. Radhe joined Profero in 2011 as a global account director in New York, working across Unilever, Lufthansa and Diageo, before relocating to run the Hong Kong office. After a year, she became managing director across Southeast Asia and Hong Kong, and is now CCO, Global Clients at MullenLowe Profero Singapore.

The business results in digital transformation show that … under her leadership, Peninsula Hotels has increased their ranking by 15 on the L2 Brand Ranking Index.

Millenium Hotels has seen the highest rates of conversion online since the transformation of their global website.

Harley Davidson launched one of the most culturally relevant campaigns within the region.

She’s also the mastermind behind the collaboration with Graintarders, an organic restaurant in Singapore

Plus, she contributed to 25% of the growth of other offices in the Southeast Asian region.

Sending the elevator back down… Most of the talent she has nurtured in Singapore have moved to other offices in the network (London, New York and Hong Kong) to take on new and larger roles. Under her mentorship, female employees are given both inspiration and direction in order to progress their careers

Her credo… One love! I am happiest when I am able to give back. It is our duty in life to lift others up so we can all be peaceful and happy. I know this is probably a very utopian view, however growing up in Jamaica and spending summers in India, has taught me that if you are in a position to help others, then it is your duty to do so.

What’s next? Radhe is currently focused on digital transformation, is committed to modernising companies that will be impacted heavily by software solutions, whilst keeping the customer at the heart.