Women to Watch 2023: Audrey Low, Mindshare

Audrey Low

Chief client officer
Mindshare
China

As the chief client officer of Mindshare China, Audrey Low leads a team of over 180 professionals, collectively, they handle over 20 clients in various industries. Working in tandem with data, tech, social, performance and e-commerce teams, she is known to deliver high-quality services that guarantee a high client satisfaction score. 

Driving a culture of collaboration and continuous learning is key to Low. Not only does this align with her work values, but it also makes business sense for driving brand growth. Little wonder then, in the midst of the pandemic and China’s economic woes, Low’s team managed to defend two biggest retentions for the agency: Dyson and Nike. Securing Nike in the kitty was significant since the sports major awarded most global markets to Initiative, including some duties in Asia. 

Low’s agility, best-in-class delivery, and solutions-orientated outlook were instrumental in retaining Unilever for a multi-year deal as well. And if that wasn’t enough, Low has worked with global teams to secure new wins in China—Qatar Tourism, Pearson, DBS bank, as well as Zegna locally. 

A great recognition from clients is through the Vantage survey, where clients rate the agency’s performance and likelihood to recommend. Across all her clients, the score has always been consistently kept above 7.5 throughout the 3 survey periods.

Outstanding commercial results like this don’t just happen, it takes a village, and Low understands that all too well. She’s doubled down on investments in recognising invisible talent, honing and appreciating it and also raising the overall seniority level of the team.  Account rotation is encouraged, Low believes it unlocks creativity and talent should work on projects that align with their strengths, passions and values. Turnover in the senior level has dipped to zero under her astute leadership.

To build a mechanism for nurturing the next generation of leaders, she conducted an audit of more than 85 client leads and then translated the results into 6Ps—platform, product, people, profit, process and partner, to create more robust support networks that share solutions. Sharing, she believes, sparks new ideas and fosters a sense of belonging and transparency. She also holds bi-monthly ‘Spotlight’ sessions with the team that are open to all and were a much-needed support for the staff during the tough Covid years. 

A media planner with over 24 years of experience, Low started with Mindshare’s Malaysia office in 1999. She moved to Shanghai as general manager for L’Oréal consumer products division in 2015 and climbed up the ranks to become chief client officer in 2021. A hard-nosed negotiator, a gentle mentor, Low takes active efforts to hone young talent and is a fixture on GroupM’s management trainee program.