Valerie Madon, Chief Creative Officer, Asia Region, VMLY&R

Valerie’s career is rooted in digital more than 20 years ago. Her transition from pureplay digital to brand/traditional agencies, including media and tech, sees her bringing the perfect marriage of all disciplines to VMLY&R as a chief creative officer of Asia. Valerie sits on the VMLY&R Global Creative Board and Asia’s EXCO.

Her understanding and brand-building skills flourished as she married them with her technical background, winning significant businesses such as the Singapore Tourism Board, Changi Airport, and HSBC, and eventually taking on the global creative lead for Shell. Her focus on the work and the business was rewarded with recognition from the industry with numerous awards at major shows such as Cannes, Effies, One Show, London International, New York Festivals and even the Best of Show and Digital Agency of the Year for J. Walter Thompson at the Singapore Creative Circle Award in 2012. The Institute of Advertising Singapore (IAS) has continuously recognized her as one of the most influential creative directors from 2011 to 2018.

A firm believer that creativity can solve larger societal issues, her mobile app for the Red Cross, to make emergency help more accessible, was launched by Singapore’s current president, Halimah Yacob, in 2012. Valerie continued to push herself and her team’s capabilities to launch a wearable tech called The Guardian Angel for AWARE in 2014, which was sold worldwide and even featured on “The Queen Latifah Show” in the U.S.

Never one to rest on her laurels, Valerie joined Facebook as head of creative shop for Southeast Asia in 2016 and excelled in technology and even media capabilities. Inspired by the startup culture, it gave her courage to test new waters beyond advertising and to pursue her other passion in life: cooking. Together with her husband, they launched their own ice cream brand, Licktionary, a business she has continued to enjoy for three years.