Lester Kahn Email & Phone Number

Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, My

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory Of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Co-founded the consulting firm focussed on transformation of Brand Activation, from the restructuring and rationalizing of company resources through to the execution of O2O brand activations that deliver! It goes beyond effectiveness, through to efficiencies that generate & optimize ROI!

Malaysia

Headed the Brand Activation business unit – strategy, business development, value proposition and the service delivery organisation. Oversaw a CHF9M budget and delivery of advisory, sales, shopper marketing, data and technology services across 10 countries.★ Developed and implemented the Brand Activation Playbook – the ‘philosophy’, the ‘art’ and the ‘science’ of brand activation as a discipline and service offering. Successfully pitched clients including Nestlé, Nespresso, Mondelez, Unilever, Brands Suntory, Danone, Ferrero Rocher★ Developed and introduced digital, O2O (online to offline) and other innovative service offerings, setting DKSH Smollan as a regional player.★ From Loss to Profit, 65% Conversion Rate - drove Vietnam and Malaysia Brand Activation from loss to profit; improved RFP conversion rates to >65%; developed the Cambodia, Myanmar, Indonesia & Philippine markets.

Malaysia

Led the turnaround of Sampling & Events to a value adding, high achieving Shopper & Consumer Engagement unit. Headed a team of 199, a budget of RM80M. Activities covered 9 business units including Milo, Maggi, Nescafe, Milks, Cereals, Ice Cream, Infant Nutrition & Confectionery.★ Set up the department as a “Centre of Excellence” and returned it to leader status – producing 147,607 Activations, 39,173,361 Consumer & Shopper Engagements and 14,499,938-unit sales per annum.★ Rationalised agencies - Introduced one store / one agency strategy managing all Nestlé in-store activations and merchandisers. Transitioned from multiple agency vendors to “Agency Partners”.★ Transformed shopper marketing & events strategies, deployment models and the ‘look & feel’ of all programs. Introduced systems, effective operating procedures, analytics and a culture of continuous improvement. ★ New strategies resulted in 11% increase in consumers engaged, 19% growth in sales, 12% reduction in cost per contact.★ Activated the biggest Nestlé programs –including runs & carnivals up to 85,000 participants; the Milo School Sports program – 41 mobile promotional units, 20,000 activations, 8,500,000 students engaged annually.

Shanghai City, China

Too charge of the international accounts Field Marketing solutions business (CNY200M budget, presence in 600 cities). Managed Colgate, Ferrero Rocher, Kimberly-Clark, Intel, Eco Shoes, Lactalis, Nestlé, Clorox, J&J, Lee Kum Kee and ExxonMobil accounts.★ Key Clients and Strategic Partnerships Included: 1) Colgate (CNY30M) – 70 cities, 3,600 stores, 2,000 field staff, 40,000 activation days, 880 events. Auditing of sales fundamentals in 2,500 stores, 350 SKUs.2) Ferrero Rocher (Rocher, Kinder, Nutella) (CNY40M) – 28 cities, 152,841 promoter days, 55,000 in-store activations, 15M consumers sampled.3) Kimberly-Clark (CNY40M) – Kotex activations in 123 cities, 1,680 stores, 118,963 promotion days, 15M consumers sampled, 3,5M demonstrations.4) Intel (CNY60M) – long term sales representative management – 550 H/C in 170 cities, 152 training sessions, 2,873 trainees (turnover ratio of <1.5%).★ Achieved growth from CNY750M to CNY1.25BN (+66%). Member of the Always Management Team developing and implementing a 5-year plan that increased the client base and transformed the enterprise from a reactive, project driven approach to a proactive, account driven approach.

Beijing City, China

Shanghai City, China

Beijing City, China

Group Asia Marketing (part of Group Africa Marketing), Feb 2002 - Dec 2003. Acquired by IPG / McCann WordGroup in 2004.

South Africa / Africa

(Then known as Group Africa Marketing)

Map - Management Advancement Program, General Management

Mangement Advancement Program (Mini MBA)

Bcom, Business Administration

Bachelor of Commerce

Certificate In Marketing Management, Marketing

Marketing