MasterCard's Sam Ahmed to chair WFA CMO FORUM in Asia

MasterCard's APAC CMO, Sam Ahmed, has been named as the first Chair of the World Federation of Advertisers' CMOFORUM in Asia-Pacific.

WFA CMOFORUM is an invitation-only, peer-to-peer network, which provides global and regional marketing leaders with a platform to exchange insights and experiences in order to better navigate the fast-changing global marketing landscape.

The Asia-based CMOFORUM was launched in September 2015 and last met in May 2016 in Singapore. CMOs or equivalents attended from brand owners including ABInBev, AirAsia, Heineken, McDonald's, Mundipharma, SAB Miller, Shell, TATA, Unilever and VISA.

Focus areas in previous meetings have included the roles, responsibilities & requirements of the modern CMO, marketing transformation and capabilities, marketing in Asia and talent development.

Ahmed is Group Head of Marketing for Asia-Pacific at MasterCard and is respected as one of Asia-Pacific's best creative marketers & Ecomm leaders. He has picked up 16 Awards in the last three years, was named in Campaign Asia's "40 under 40" and was named among the "Top 100 Global Most Influential Marketers" at the World Brand Congress in 2015.

He previously ran teams at Fonterra, Kraft and Starbucks. During his time at Starbucks he rolled out Asia-Pacific's largest digital point-of-sale, CRM and loyalty card programme, helping to drive store comps WHAT up by 20%.

He is a board member of the WFA's Project Reconnect, which aims to help marketers to develop a better understanding of what people want and expect from brands. He has partnered with eight NGOs in his work across the region in the last decade, has been awarded for his work by the World Health Organization in 2006 (Osteoporosis Campaign) and was nominated in 2014 to the World Economic Forum of Young Global Leaders.

His role leading the WFA CMOFORUM will complement the work being undertaken by the WFA's Regional Vice-President and Executive Committee member, Sameer Desai, Head of Consumer Health for Asia, Middle East, Africa and LATAM at Mundipharma.

"I am thrilled to be leading the passionate group of marketers who participate in the WFA's CMOFORUM events. I've learnt so much from my peers and it's been a huge advantage in helping me in my own day job. I'm looking forward to promoting this group across the region. As marketers we have our own challenges but we can all learn from each other's experiences. WFA's CMOFORUM is uniquely placed to make that happen," said Ahmed.

"The best marketers are always learning and Sam has been a huge advocate for the peer-to-peer potential of our CMOFORUM. This fast growing group has become a lightning rod for some of the very best marketers in the region. I'm confident that with Sam at the helm, the group will go from strength to strength," said Stephan Loerke, WFA CEO.

The group next meets on October 25th in Singapore and October 27th in Hong Kong.

CMOFORUM has been coming together globally since 2009 and for the last three years as part of Cannes Lions.

For more information about WFA's CMOFORUM, please contact Ranji David at r.david@wfanet.org