NTUC Link appoints Sheryl Chen as head of loyalty marketing

NTUC Link has appointed Sheryl Claire Chen as its new head of loyalty marketing. In her new role, Chen leads the marketing team to "redefine loyalty" for the company's members and partners, she told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE. 

Chen also said she is honoured and delighted to join the NTUC Link and FairPrice Group family, and having the opportunity to lead a team of experienced marketers in redefining loyalty. "We have great plans for 2021, to bring even greater value for our members and partners through our transformation of the rewards programme using data and technology," Chen said, adding that the team is constantly working on transforming its rewards programme to benefit its members. "To provide value for our member base of 2.3 million, we need to constantly dig deeper to understand their behaviour and predict their needs," she said.

According to her LinkedIn, Chen (pictured) previously helmed the role of AVP, brand and marketing at NTUC Enterprise for two years and two months. During her time with NTUC Enterprise, Chen worked in close collaboration with the NTUC Labour Movement and social enterprises colleagues to bring awareness to NTUC Union members and the public on the NTUC social enterprises' mission of providing good value and goodwill to Singapore, as per her LinkedIn profile. Some projects that she was involved in include the "50 cents Kopi/Teh" project with Foodfare/Kopitiam, as well as "Stretch your Dollar" initiatives such as "Because We Care", her LinkedIn said.

Chen was also responsible for managing NTUC Enterprise's Facebook and LinkedIn pages, as well as its website. Chen and her team also developed digital strategies and content creation, to continuously increase the group's presence on social media/digital space and improve community engagement/outreach such as the "Kopi Conversations", its National Day video and the Merdeka Generation launch video, her LinkedIn added. Chen first joined NTUC Enterprise in 2018. Prior to NTUC Enterprise, Chen helmed roles of marketing manager and senior marketing manager at Parkway Pantai and SPH Magazines respectively. 

Chan's appointment came as NTUC Link's marketing lead and lifestyle partnerships lead, Koh Junrong, left the company after almost three years. In a LinkedIn post, Koh said with plans for the next chapter of Link and FairPrice Group now firmly in motion, he felt like it was the right time to exit the company. "It's been a privilege to be a part of the real change I wanted to see here, working on the reorganisation plan and loyalty strategy that steered its transformation and integration with FairPrice Group, and growing two young and dynamic teams in marketing and lifestyle partnerships," he said, thanking everyone who has journeyed with him. 

In a statement to MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, Koh added: "I'm glad to have been part of a team and I'm proud that our achievements in data-driven engagement marketing have been recognised. At this stage, I feel it's the right time to pursue other career interests." 

Meanwhile, Henry Christian, general manager at NTUC Link has taken a hiatus while remaining under the company's employment. In a LinkedIn post, Christian said he will be back when he is ready. In his position, Christian reports to Alvin Neo, managing director of NTUC Link.  

In a previous interview with MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, Christian said NTUC Link's vision for 2021 is to become customer-obsessed enough to understand its customers’ needs and behaviours and be there for them when, or even before, they need us. The company is also looking to be able to curate personalised experiences to continuously engage its customers. For its next lap of transformation journey, Christian said the company is working on some big changes to its Plus! rewards programme, and the team strives to make the programme more accessible and convenient for its members. 

NTUC Link also expects groceries to continue being a strong performer in 2021, and it wants to engage more multi-brand F&B merchant partners despite their uneven recovery, as the team believes in their strategic importance to NTUC Link's ambition of becoming the daily essentials rewards programme. Christian added that the company expects higher demand for local tourism and online streaming and subscription-based services, as well as eCommerce to continue dominating. So it will work to adjust the partnerships in these areas to maintain top-of-mind awareness among its programme members.

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