Spotting future leaders in marketing and communications has never been a straightforward task. Talent hardly emerges in neat, predictable cycles. It often bursts through, sometimes sideways or against the odds, and almost always with a knack for shaking up the status quo.
That’s why Women to Watch remains one of Campaign Asia-Pacific’s most meaningful franchises: an annual opportunity to shine a light on those smashing their roles today and actively shaping what the industry will look like tomorrow. This year’s 25 honourees span nine markets and disciplines from creative and strategy to PR, media, in-house brand leadership and tech.
As always, the selection process involves two rounds of scrutiny. First came the external jury comprising Aiga Dzene, innovation & productivity realisation office director at Danone Indonesia, and Jayass Rajo, marketing director at Pizza Hut Singapore, with their frontline market insight. Then Campaign’s editorial jury, Greater China senior reporter Minnie Wang and editor Nikita Mishra, added another layer of scrutiny, context and healthy debate.
The numbers tell their own story. Singapore tops the chart with eight honourees, followed by China with six. Independents, especially in PR, are holding their own against the bigger networks. Publicis Groupe and Omnicom are neck and neck, while in-house leaders take a healthy slice. Our big takeaway from the winners tally is obvious: talent pipeline isn’t just running through the big agency corridors anymore but branching out in unexpected and exciting directions.
2025 is shaping up to be a year of consolidation and contraction across global advertising. Mergers and acquisitions are redrawing competitive lines, while AI continues to disrupt creative and operational workflows. The efficiencies are real, but so are the job losses—with senior talent in particular facing the brunt of exits. At the same time, client expectations are swinging faster than procurement cycles can keep up with, and that creates pressure on agencies and brands alike to deliver sharper results with leaner teams.
In that climate, the women on this year’s list are not merely “ones to watch” but rather the bellwethers of where the industry is headed. As you will read in the profiles below, some are pioneering AI adoption without sacrificing human insight, tapping multi-market growth with cultural fluency, and embedding sustainability and DEI as core business drivers.
A big shoutout to everyone who threw their hats in the ring this year. If you didn’t make the cut, don’t sweat it, competition was tough, and we’re watching. We want to see you back another time.
To the 2025 winners: you’re raising the bar, breaking new ground, and showing what marketing leadership really looks like in Asia Pacific today. Keep shaking things up.
The 2025 Women to Watch (in alphabetical order by given name):
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
