Top 5 job movements in SG that grabbed readers' attention in 2021

Singapore saw several key movements in the marketing and advertising scene this year. This comes as no surprise, social media/digital marketing jobs ranked fifth in LinkedIn's list of top 15 jobs on the rise in Singapore; released in January 2021. According to LinkedIn, the roles that are on the rise were social media coordinator, chief growth officer, social media strategist, growth manager, as well as search engine optimisation (SEO) specialist.

Furthermore, salary increases in Singapore are expected to return to pre-pandemic levels, with an average 3.5% increase in 2022, compared to 3.3% in 2021 and 3.6% in 2019; according to Mercer’s 2021 Total Remuneration Survey. The survey also projected overall wage increases across all 18 industries surveyed - high tech, life sciences, consumer goods, retail and wholesale, banking and financial services, and healthcare services, among others. 

Here’s a look at the five biggest moves that our Singapore readers were keen to read more on:

1. Michelle Yip

Michelle Yip's move from CMO at Lazada Singapore to DBS as executive director, group strategic marketing and communications grabbed the attention of readers. She had already been with Lazada for over five years at the time of her move. At Lazada, Yip led the marketing team across branding, social, public relations, online performance marketing, CRM, customer lifecycle management and strategic partnerships, according to her LinkedIn.

Yip said in a previous statement to MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, that in her new role at DBS, she will be helping to drive sustainability efforts, create social impact, as well as democratise banking services through the bank's digital innovation. "As a purpose-driven bank, DBS has reimagined banking to help customers live hassle-free by making banking invisible, intelligent and intuitive so that they can seize life's opportunities and live larger than themselves. The impact it creates goes beyond banking, because what DBS does touches real people and real businesses," she added.

2. Dione Song

Dione Song's promotion in Love, Bonito from COO to CEO caused quite buzz among our readers as the promotion also marked the brand's first CEO in its 11-year history, according to co-founder Rachel Lim in a LinkedIn post. Song first joined Love, Bonito in 2017 as chief commercial officer before being promoted to chief operating officer in 2018. 

In a statement to MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, Song said then that she will be responsible for driving Love, Bonito's vision, strategy, culture and growth of the group. "Together with our senior leadership team of 13 and a team of 250 across the region, we have built Love, Bonito into the largest digitally native women's brand in Southeast Asia, and have been expanding beyond SEA to North Asia, Australia and United States," Song said. She is currently working closely alongside Lim in this role.

3. Cheryl Lim

Cheryl Lim's departure from her role as Manulife Singapore's VP, head of branding, communications and sponsorships also made the list. Lim had been with the insurance company for over four years. According to Lim, one of her biggest achievement was in leading her team to clinch the 2019 and 2020 Overall Marketer of the Year at the Marketing Excellence Awards. Thanking Manulife's internal stakeholders for their support, Lim said winning the awards is testament to the team's consistent, continuous teamwork at the highest level.

Lim has since joined online streaming platform Viu Singapore as country head of marketing where, according to Lim, she leads a multidisciplinary suite of functions, including brand, digital, performance marketing and communications to drive key business objectives. "Together with the team, I look forward to helping grow Viu’s growth momentum of Asian content, with Korean entertainment at the heart of our pan-regional strategy," she told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE.

4. Sheralyn Yap

This year also saw Sheralyn Yap leave her role as StarHub's head of digital loyalty marketing and partnership after close to 22 years. Yap began her career with StarHub in 1999 as a marketing executive and rose up the ranks to helm roles including assistant marketing manager and assistant CRM and loyalty marketing manager. Some of her accomplishments with StarHub include the transformation of four loyalty programmes and multiple partnerships with AirAsia, OCBC Bank, ShopBack, Shopee, NTUC Link, Resorts World Sentosa, Grab, and DBS Bank, among others. 

After taking a short break, Yap joined gaming company Razer, where she is currently head of Razer Silver (B2C). Razer Silver is Razer's rewards currency that members can use to redeem for products such as discounts off Razer products and digital rewards such as games, gift vouchers, among others. 

5. Ravi Shankar

Lastly, keeping readers hooked was Ravi Shankar's departure from his role as AirAsia's chief growth and platform officer, after close to five years for the company. Shankar told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE then that he is currently on a break and in India, and will decide on his next move soon. He first joined the team in 2017 as group head of digital marketing before rising through the ranks and eventually helming the role of chief growth and digital officer.

One of his most memorable campaigns in AirAsia included building an in-house digital marketing team from scratch including an in-house programmatic trading desk. According to him, the team had a mix of data, tech and marketing professionals. "This was during the time when the whole industry was complaining that there was not enough digital talent in the region," he said. 

Related articles:
StarHub's digital loyalty marketing lead Sheralyn Yap departs after nearly 22 years
AirAsia's chief growth and platform officer Ravi Shankar exits
Manulife SG's marketing lead Cheryl Lim exits after four years
Lazada's CMO Michelle Yip takes on new role at DBS
Love, Bonito picks former marketer Dione Song as CEO, first in company's 11-year history