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Cindy LiCL

Cindy Li

Global Marketing Manager

€579/day
Zurich, CH
8-15 years

Average response time: 1 hour

About Cindy

I help Western brands unlock growth in China and APAC and help global brands entering Europe understand what premium really means to Asian consumers.
With 12+ years at Mars, Diageo and MSC Cruises, I specialise in brand strategy, consumer insight and go-to-market execution across China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and broader APAC markets. I have built marketing functions from scratch, launched super-premium portfolios into culturally distinct markets, and led integrated campaigns that consistently overdelivered on commercial KPIs.

What makes me different: I sit at the intersection of East and West. I combine native Chinese cultural fluency with European brand sensibility, bridging the gap that most consultants can only approach from one side.

I typically work on:
— China/APAC market entry and brand localisation strategy
— Consumer insight and brand health research
— Portfolio strategy and innovation pipeline
— Campaign development and agency briefing
— Interim senior marketing leadership

Based in Zurich, Switzerland. Available for remote and project-based engagements.
  • English

    Native or bilingual

  • German

    Conversational

  • Chinese

    Native or bilingual

Can work on-site
Zurich (up to 50km)

Experience

  • CHAMPION PETFOODS (Mars Inc.)
    Portfolio & Data Driven Marketing Lead
    January 2025 - December 2025 (11 months)
    Zurich, Switzerland
    Promoted twice from Senior Brand Manager, Marketing Manager to Portfolio & Data Driven Marketing Lead with various responsibilities covered, from innovation deployment, portfolio strategy, brand storytelling & consumer activation to consumer Insight
    Consumer Insight-driven Strategic Portfolio Planning
    • ▪ Significantly contributed to key strategic planning as pioneer associate, including 5-year business and 3-year planning, 1-year Brand Plan, providing critical consumer and market segmentation insights to guide sustainable Sales Enablement strategy.
    • ▪ Utilized consumer insights to inform strategic planning and ensure alignment with long-range sustainability goals.
    • ▪ Led leadership workshops to ensure decisions were rooted in consumer insight and aligned with long-range sustainability goals
    • ▪ Spearheaded annual value chain strategy, designing profitable and competitive pricing guidelines to optimize channel margins and strengthened brand and portfolio position. Innovation Strategic Planning & Product Pipeline Management
    • ▪ Shaped 3-year innovation pipeline and portfolio prioritization, embedding consumer needs, global regulatory requirement of natural pet foods into innovation journey from ideation to commercialization globally, resulting in breakthrough category expansion and portfolio upgrade, contributing to 30% of projected incremental sales growth.
    • ▪ Oversaw the product design and packaging process for key successful launches, collaborating with internal design and marketing teams to ensure a premium segment aesthetic and brand consistency
    • ▪ Built and nurtured a cross-functional community to support innovation acceleration and regional scaling.
    • ▪ Led local and global Portfolio Review process to drive cross-functional alignment among Marketing, Sales and Regulatory.
    Innovation Management Business Plan Development Strategic planning Branding Portfolio Strategy
  • CHAMPION PETFOODS (Mars Inc.)
    Marketing Manager & Senior Brand Manager
    March 2022 - December 2024 (2 years and 9 months)
    Shanghai, China
    Successful Breakthrough Consumer and Innovation Projects
    • ▪ Led a two-person team in market research initiatives, including brand health tracking, innovation concept testing, and comprehensive China pet food market insights. Our efforts guided strategic decision-making and were instrumental in the successful launch of Kibble Plus Cat, projected to achieve CHF 2.2M in annual sales. Brand Strategy & Activation Leadership
    • ▪ Led end-to-end marketing for ORIJEN & ACANA brands, a premium portfolio, reporting directly to the GM.
    • ▪ Revitalised China brand strategy with differentiated value proposition and premium professional toolkits, and offline & online channel activations.
    • ▪ Orchestrated omni-channel integrated marketing campaign for TikTok Super Brand Day, including Pet Fair Asia offline activation, online influencer liaison & PR, and led the partnership with Bazaar and Photographer Chenman. Overdelivered 1.25 times of sales KPI as 1st Petfoods Brand in Super Brand Day on TikTok, driving significant engagement and increasing brand awareness.
    APAC Regional & Customer Management
    • ▪ Spearheaded development of regional marketing activations from ground up, including Japan's sampling distribution and offline Perfect Store program, New Zealand's POS materials campaign, Thailand South Asia Pet Fair, and omnichannel activations in South Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. China Social Media & Influencer Management
    • ▪ China team's influencer engagement and ad buying on TikTok and Redbook to brand search ranking and a viral post
    • ▪ Synergised influencer and e-commerce resources by engaging top influencers for store livestreaming during e-commerce festivals, driving brand advocacy and conversion.
    Digital Marketing Brand content Innovation Management Positioning strategy Communication 360°
  • MSC Cruises
    Brand Marketing Manager
    July 2019 - March 2022 (2 years and 8 months)
    Shanghai, China
    Culturally Adapted Portfolio Launch
    • ▪ Developed and localized product strategy and design elements, rolling out integrated global marketing campaigns across B2B and B2C channels
    • ▪ Led discussion between MSC Bellisima Euro experiences and China ones to localise Chinese preferred experiences, including dining & services to drive tailor-made Chinese experiences onboard.
    Regional Strategic Brand Partnership
    • ▪ As China Marketing Lead, partnered with the acclaimed Chinese drama 'Nothing But Thirty' to elevate brand image, significantly broadening audience exposure and improving capacity utilization.
    • ▪ Served as China Marketing representative for Geneva HQ's global digital smart cruise AI 'ZOE' localisation project, providing critical consumer insights to ensure cultural adaptation and relevance.
    Brand content Product Marketing artificial intelligence Partnerships Content marketing

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Education

  • M.A Cultural and Creative Industries
    King's College University of London
    2017
    M.A Cultural and Creative Industries
  • B.B.A.
    National Taiwan University
    2012
    B.B.A.

Certifications

  • Writing Lives
    Oxford University
    2023
  • PwS Data-Driven Decision Making
    PwC
    2018

Skill set

Categories