Alumni Spotlight Stories: Gerard Andrew James

Prior to graduation, Gerard Andrew James interned at Skyscanner during his last semester at NUS, and was offered a full-time position with them upon graduation in 2014. Gerard stayed at Skyscanner for 4 years, before deciding to take a career break in 2018. He joined his friend’s F&B business (Katto Singapore) as their E-commerce and Digital Marketing Consultant, helping out with the company’s website and digital marketing efforts, before moving on to a contract role with DeepCloud AI, an AI-tech startup for 3 months. At DeepCloud AI, he was involved with digital marketing and growth efforts such as product marketing strategy and execution in this region.

Gerard joined atta Pte Ltd (formerly known as WithTravel Inc) as regional director of sales and marketing towards the end of 2018. And in June this year, he started a digital strategist role with First Page Digital.

Q: Please tell us more about yourself?

I am deeply passionate about people, innovation, and business development. I’m a digital marketing professional with five years of experience who seeks to constantly learn and develop through the pursuit of fulfilling roles and opportunities in aspiring growth companies.

I was previously part of the growth and marketing team at Skyscanner, managing emerging growth markets in the APAC region (Vietnam, Indonesia and Philippines). Right now, I’m working with atta Pte Ltd as the Regional Director of Sales & Marketing to ramp up growth in APAC. I’m also currently pursuing an MBA at Thammasat University in Bangkok, Thailand on the weekends. I enjoy working at start-ups in the rapid growth phase as there is much to learn, experiment and explore during that stage of development.

Q: Tell us about your journey in the realm of marketing. Why did you decide to specialize in marketing?

I enrolled in university as a student with a humanities background and hoped to challenge myself by studying Business due to the challenging curriculum. What really inspired me to specialize in marketing was my MKT101 experience with Associate Professor Ang Swee Hoon, as she made me realise that marketing allows me to be creative and come out with new ideas, and yet be strategic at the same time, due to the rigorous planning involved in marketing campaigns.

She also made me realise how marketing presents me with various exciting career choices, as marketing students can choose between traditional big agencies, startups, media companies, as well as FMCG firms, just to name a few.

Other memorable marketing courses that I can remember includes Product & Brand Management by Ms Tamaki as it gave me an in-depth look at brand strategy and concepts such as product-market fit.
My NUS academic experience was further supplemented by my internship experiences at both Unilever and Skyscanner. These internship experiences taught me digital marketing skills like social media management, blog-writing and posting, as well as knowledge of how search engine optimization (SEO) works.

All in all, I would say that I picked up the theoretical and strategic knowledge in NUS and built up my technical and practical knowledge through internships. These skills have guided me closely throughout my entire career.

Q: Can you tell us more about your internship experiences at Unilever and Skyscanner, as well as how you managed to secure these internships?

I was a finalist in the Unilever case challenge, and I proposed strategies such as pop-up stores to help Lipton Tea build up their brand loyalty in Singapore. The proposed strategy was eventually implemented by Unilever, so I guess Unilever probably shared similar vision and insights, and also saw that I had the key traits and creative potential to work for them, which may partially explain how I subsequently managed to secure an internship with them.

During my time at Unilever, I mainly grew in 2 aspects. Firstly, I learnt a lot through marketing research, both qualitatively and quantitatively. Being able to conduct marketing research well is a valuable skill for any marketing professional, as it is important for one to be able to understand how markets function. My experience allowed me to derive a lot of insights related to key drivers of brand adoption and brand loyalty. The second key skill that I picked up was social media community management, which is essentially how a company can make use of social media to inspire customers’ goodwill towards a brand. I was in the laundry team in Unilever, and one of the projects I got to work on was about coming out with inspiring messages that can speak to mothers who care about the cleanliness of their laundry. I also had the chance to be involved in an on-the-ground campaigns in the Philippines; this experience thus taught me a lot about building a strong community of followers and engaging with customers through on-ground campaigns.

As for how I managed to join Skyscanner subsequently, it was during my internship experience with Unilever when I met a friend who referred me there. Skyscanner happened to be looking for someone with experience in product marketing and brand management and with experience in the Singapore market, and these are the skills which I managed to pick up when I was at Unilever, so I was able to apply these skills to my work at Skyscanner. When I was at Skyscanner, I was honoured to be given the opportunity to manage influencers and deepen social media and blogger engagement for the brand. I got to plan trips with the company, and coordinate with influencers for things like video campaigns and photoshoots. At the same time, just like my time at Unilever, I did a fair bit of market research. By analyzing the trends of the market, I was able to highlight opportunities and come out with recommendations to the company so as to maximise the brand reach, loyalty and competitiveness.

Q: Since you have experience in both corporations and startups, can you share some insights regarding these two types of companies that students should consider before pursuing a career in such companies?

Working for corporate companies usually involve a fixed job description, and there is usually a consistent daily working experience and set working hours. If there are any overseas trips or projects, we will usually be informed way in advance for the necessary preparations to be made.

On the other hand, the working experience in a startup company is a lot more fluid. The job description can quickly change as the company progresses and evolves, and we can have very different day-to-day experience. For example, when I was at Skyscanner, I got to do ad-hoc projects such as bringing 20 influencers to Bali and planning for their trips. Unlike corporate life where business trips would have been planned at least 1 month in advance, for startups, such trips may only be made known 2-3 days in advance, and we have to learn to be on the ball and prepare for such things.

As for why I eventually chose to embark my career in a startup environment, it is mainly because my internship experiences made me realise that the startup life is the life for me. It gave me a greater sense of ownership in decision-making, more space to exercise my creativity, as well as be involved in the longer-term strategy planning. In addition, I felt that a startup environment would give me greater flexibility in coming out with new campaigns, building up brand love, as well as figuring out how a company can best interact with customers.

Q: Are there any key things that students should look out for when selecting their first career?

Well, we never really know our bosses until we join. I think that as a new graduate, we can do some background checks during the interview process and meet up with our boss before signing on the contract to better understand his/her expectations. We should also seek to understand our bosses’ career experience and think about what we can potentially learn from them. For myself, my previous boss at Skyscanner was a senior marketing professional with more than 15 years of work experience. She moved from India to Singapore to manage Skyscanner India, and I was honoured to have her as my mentor, as she guided me a lot in my management of the Vietnam, Indonesia, and Philippines market. Subsequently when she left the company, my new boss who was also from India, was a highly skilled digital marketing guru and taught me a lot on how to optimize digital campaigns and supported me in my development by giving me opportunities with many new projects and campaigns.

Q: We understand that you transitioned between a few companies before settling at atta Pte Ltd. What motivated you to switch jobs, and how can one know whether it is the ‘right’ moment to move?

I don’t think there is a specific fixed period of time that we should spend with a company before we leave. Rather, it about the amount of learning opportunities that we can get from the company, which depends on how fast the company is growing. We need to constantly reflect and ask ourselves how much we have learnt from our experience in the company, as well as how much more we can potentially learn based on the company culture and our responsibilities. This also depends on how much more we think we can learn from our bosses.

When I left Skyscanner, I felt that I had learnt as much as I could from my bosses and from the company. At the same time, there were quite a few of my colleagues who had joined the company at about the same time as me who were also making career switches. Thus, I came to a natural conclusion that it was the right time to look for a change and pursue new opportunities.
I also think that a lot depends on the timing of the market, such as whether the market is currently doing well. If the market is doing well, and there are plenty of opportunities knocking on your door, then it may be a good time to switch.

As for how I landed in my current position as Regional Director of Sales & Marketing with atta Pte Ltd, atta was founded by an ex-colleague of mine in Skyscanner. He asked if I would like to take up this opportunity, and I gladly obliged. I personally think that in startups, things will often flow from one thing to another, and the more flexible we are towards the idea of making changes and meeting more people, the better it is for our career.

Q: Can you share some industry trends/opportunities/threats ongoing in the industry? How can students leverage on these insights?

When we talk about marketing for companies, one of the big growth areas nowadays is definitely influencer management. We also see more regional projects, and the scope of our work extends beyond Singapore. For example, at Skyscanner, I covered the Singapore market during my internship phase, and had the chance to manage marketing for Vietnam, Indonesia and Philippines after I became a full time employee. On this note, I am thankful for my education at NUS which gave me a good understanding of the Singapore, ASEAN and the global market. Thus, to answer your question, I would think that students should try to join a firm with a global or regional mindset, as these are the companies which will engage in projects involving various countries, and will thus provide more opportunities for them to learn and advance their career.

In addition, it is important for students and graduates to constantly stay informed about the industry. For example, if we are interested in the startup industry, we need to be on the lookout for news related to the startups which recently got new funding, or are growing at a fast rate, and find out which companies are hiring. Students should also network extensively and find out the people within the industry whom they can trust and have fun with, people whom we know will help one another in times of need.

Q: How do you think a marketing student can stand out from the crowd in interviews?

I would think that it is important for a marketing student to see marketing not just as a subject or career, but as something that pervades our lifestyle. There is much to learn about marketing from our daily experiences, and we can stand out from the crowd by showcasing our ability to link snippets of our daily experiences when coming out with a marketing strategy. Marketing is about deriving inspiration for creative choices or strategy, and thus we are often unable to strictly define its scope. Thus, it is important for us to be able to gain inspiration from our daily lives, be it in terms of what we eat, what shows we watch and where we visit.

Q: What were some of the struggles that you faced in your career? What would your advice be for your juniors pertaining to these struggles?

I think the main struggle that I have faced in my career is the management of time and responsibilities. When we start our first job, we may be surprised that takes up more time than we thought it would. There will be lots of times when we have to work late, go out with clients, and meet colleagues after work to discuss important matters. Thus, a large part of our first job will be on the job itself, and we will have to learn to manage the time that we spend with our family and friends. This is especially the case for startups where working hours are not structured. Fortunately, I have been single, so it is much easier for me to travel around and focus on my career.

Ultimately, I do think that it is about the expectations that we set for ourselves, as there will always be tradeoffs in our decisions. We need to define the expectations we set for our career, find out the roles which we are comfortable with, and know where we want to draw the line.

Q: What advice do you have for those looking to climb the corporate ladder like you have been able to?

I personally feel that if we want to thrive in the corporate world, it is all about continual learning. We need to constantly learn, improve and embrace new opportunities. We also need to learn to network to strike meaningful connections with people, so that we can reach out to people better when it matters.

Q: Are there any other advices that you hope to offer to fresh graduates or young alumni?

Whether you are a fresh graduate or someone looking to make a career switch, it is important to join a company that aligns with your personal beliefs, in terms of vision, brand identity, or brand values. Figuring out our personal beliefs will take a bit of self-reflection, but if we are able to do so and find the right type of job, we will see work as a natural part of our lives and not as a superficial mean to earn money or seek promotion. This also explains why when most people switch careers, it is because they aspire to lead another kind of life.

As for undergraduates, my advice will be to treasure each internship opportunity they get, as they presents an avenue for us to learn about the company culture, processes, and pick up useful technical skills that could aid us when we enter the workforce. Do not see the internship as a competition to get a job; rather, see it as a learning platform. Always questions and treat every task seriously. You can also find out your strengths and identify means in which you can contribute to the company. Through this entire process, you will be able to figure out whether the company will provide the right environment for us to grow.

Lastly, a short note on joining startups in general – the company culture of startups is usually defined by founders themselves. Thus, anybody who wants to join a startup should strike a good relationship with the founders and think about whether that person is the kind of boss you want to work for in the long-term.

* Since the interview was first published in 2019, Gerard has graduated from Thammasat Business School’s GEMBA programme in June 2020 and joined First Page Digital as a digital strategist. He also founded the Thammasat Business School Alumni group in Singapore.

The Alumni Spotlight Stories is a weekly series that explores a Bizad alumni’s journey from school to the working world. The story was first published in “Alumni Spotlight Stories: From Student Life to the Peak of your Career” compiled by the NUS Business School Alumni (NUSBSA).