Curiosity doesn’t always kill the cat:

As General Manager of Hakuhodo Malaysia, my role is to drive sustainable growth by challenging the status quo, embracing innovation and keeping the agency ahead of the curve. I believe sustainable growth comes from anticipating change, identifying emerging opportunities and continuously evolving our capabilities and ways of working. This means building strong client partnerships, developing a future-ready team and fostering a culture that encourages curiosity, experimentation and bold thinking—ensuring Hakuhodo Malaysia remains relevant, competitive and ready for what’s next.

With over 20 years in advertising, branding and communications, I have built my career around one simple belief: great marketing starts with understanding people. My experience spans fast-moving consumer goods, electronics, finance, broadcast and entertainment, quick-service restaurants and government-linked companies, giving me a broad perspective on how brands can connect with people across different categories, cultures and contexts.

At the heart of my approach is curiosity. I am naturally driven to ask “why?”—sometimes perhaps a little too often, as my family, friends and colleagues will readily attest. But this relentless curiosity keeps me questioning assumptions, digging deeper into sei-katsu-sha behavior and looking for better ways to solve problems. Even in an increasingly data-driven and technology-led world, I believe successful brands still need to understand what people want, what motivates them and, ultimately, what moves their hearts.

For me, leadership is about more than managing people or delivering results. It is about creating an environment where people are curious, challenge convention, keep learning and feel empowered to do their best work. Ultimately, I see my role as bringing together people, ideas and opportunities to create meaningful impact—for clients, brands and the people behind them.

Roles and titles current when this article was published in September 2026.