12 women thriving in APAC: Valerie Cheng

Valerie Cheng, head of Creative Shop, Southeast Asia, Facebook | SINGAPORE

Tell us about your career path and achievements.

I graduated as a graphic designer and my first job was being an assistant to a photographer/ videographer. I was hired for my skills in video editing, as I was proficient in Adobe Premier and After Effects. During my spare time in the studio, my boss asked if I wanted to figure out how to use a webpage-designing tool called Macromedia Dreamweaver. That was the beginning of my self-taught digital background during a time when very few had the skills and courses were hardly available.

I got my job as an art director with CCG.XM (better known as XM Asia, and now Mirum) where I spent six years learning the fundamentals of digital best practice. A milestone then was designing and launching Singapore Airlines’ first online booking website.

I moved on to Arc Worldwide, the digital-arm for Leo Burnett, as a creative director, where I honed my skills as a creative leader. It was at Leo Burnett that I gained most of my experience and knowledge in building brands working on the likes P&G, Hewlett-Packard, and Tiger Beer. It was there that I fell in love with advertising and realised the power of a big idea to transform businesses.

Yasmin Ahmad

One day, Mark Tutssel, global chief creative officer of Leo Burnett, invited me to join the agency’s global council. It was a major honour and boost to my confidence as I was probably the youngest member on the panel then. Being on the council gave me the opportunity to be surrounded by many great creative leaders such as the late Yasmin Ahmad, and I got to watch them in action. Till this day, I cannot be more thankful for the years of experience I’ve gained from being at Leo Burnett.

I moved on to join Publicis for a short stint and landed at JWT/XM as ECD. I continued to grow as a leader in a network agency and the biggest milestone was when we won the Changi Airport and Singapore Tourism Board business back-to-back. That experience taught me that nothing is impossible and every pitch is yours if everyone puts his or her mind to it. I was promoted to chief creative officer and learned the art of leading an agency within the five years of being with them. It was also at JWT that I led as a global creative director for a brand (Shell Lubricants). That experience was priceless and very different from working on local or regional accounts. The clients were top-notch and respectful of what the agency had to offer and my team in JWT London was a dream A-Team to work with. It was with Shell that I made my most beautiful content for the campaign Real Destinations.

I moved on to join Publicis for a short stint and landed at JWT/XM as ECD. I continued to grow as a leader in a network agency and the biggest milestone was when we won the Changi Airport and Singapore Tourism Board business back-to-back. That experience taught me that nothing is impossible and every pitch is yours if everyone puts his or her mind to it. I was promoted to chief creative officer and learned the art of leading an agency within the five years of being with them. It was also at JWT that I led as a global creative director for a brand (Shell Lubricants). That experience was priceless and very different from working on local or regional accounts. The clients were top-notch and respectful of what the agency had to offer and my team in JWT London was a dream A-Team to work with. It was with Shell that I made my most beautiful content for the campaign Real Destinations.

When the Facebook offer came along, it was perfect timing. I had felt like I needed to experience something different after almost 20 years in the agency world. It has been just six months and it feels like I’ve gained six years worth of knowledge. Every day there’s something to learn – from building a culture, to people management and of course best practices for coming up with creative ideas that work on platforms like Facebook, Instagram etc.

Who is your role model?

My time with Leo Burnett is also most significant because I got to work under Linda Locke, then regional ECD of Leo Burnett. Through her I’ve learned to be relentless if you want to create brilliance and that hard work eventually pays off. Just watching her work and her constant search for more creative solutions inspires me to do the same. I’ve learnt to genuinely care for my clients’ business and approach every brief strategically because Linda would question every problem that way. She was appreciative of those who worked hard but, tough on those who were lazy. Meetings with Linda trained me to come prepared and she used every second of her time effectively in the agency. She ‘threw’ me into ‘deep water’ many times to challenge myself and the most nerve-wrecking moment was chairing the Creative Circle Awards for the first time. It was also the event that put me in the spotlight and led to more judging opportunities like D&AD and Cannes.

Do you think there’s a glass ceiling in advertising in Singapore? 

I never felt at any point in my career that there was ever a glass ceiling. I would say my success came more from hard work than talent and that’s the sacrifice I had to make throughout my career, especially the times when I had my first child at 27. I was hardly home before mid-night and my mum was helping to take care of him. Being a fairly young mum then, I didn’t realise I was spending very little time with him. I believe my mum made up for that gap but in a very blessed way, my son has grown to be really attached to me.

I’ve had many female creatives in my team and it is mostly the phase of being a mum that forces women to rethink their priorities. This usually happens around their late 20s and early 30s and it is also the prime period which most creatives become creative directors. As the job becomes more demanding, hours become longer and more stressful, and most mums will face the difficult decision to choose family or spend less time with them. At this crossroad, I’ve seen many go freelance if they truly still enjoy advertising.

What are the sort of challenges you have faced as a woman in making it to the top of your profession?

In the office, I’ve never felt the challenges I faced were any different from those a man would confront. I thought being a woman had more positives than negatives. I felt clients were more appreciative at times that they had a female creative leader and were interested to know my point-of-view. I believe we are naturally more emotional and sensitive which is a strength to tap into for more insightful ideas.

When it comes to managing people, our sensitivity goes a long way to help us empathise with staff issues and needs. Overall, I always felt more protected by my global and regional management because they know how rare it is to have women among them and they really treasure what women have to offer.

What is your view on the belief that women do not want management roles in advertising?

In general, there are people (both men and women) who may not enjoy management responsibilities but what organisations need to do is to find the potential in those who can and nurture them to become leaders. I had the fortune to meet many such as Linda Locke who kept pushing me to rise above. Many others would benefit from that and maybe more so in women. It is often documented how women are more humble about their capabilities and may even shy from roles they think they cannot fulfil. This is why they need people to encourage them to “lean in” and take the plunge.

What do you make of the claim that women aren’t as creative as men?

I didn’t think God would be that unfair. If anything as I’ve mentioned, a woman’s strength lies in her sensitivity to understand people better, which can lead to more insightful ideas that hit the heart.

What advice would you give to a woman who aspires to be a creative director in Singapore?

Be prepared to work hard but also remember to work smart. Longer hours are not necessarily quality hours. Compartmentalise your day and devote time to other passions. A balance life and happy family will give your brain the boost you need to generate fresher ideas.

And most importantly, don’t give up on your career if you really love what you do. Speak to your bosses and try to work things out. If they treasure you, the organisation will do whatever it takes to make it work.