Kate Robson

I direct marketing initiatives the entire APAC region, guiding a team of five in developing new marketing channels and partnerships, as well as compelling marketing communications pieces. I also collaborate with an external agency to build brand communications and digital marketing strategies. Achievements include reshaping the spending strategy for a multi-million dollar budget to focus on high-impact ROI and driving a 54.9% increase in web traffic and 17.9% growth in YOY customer enquiries.

I relocated to Singapore to lead customer growth and profitability efforts for element14, Premier Farnell’s Asia Pacific trading brand and a £80M per year business. This data-driven role encompassed segmentation, customer acquisition, retention, digital marketing and brand communications. I led a team of five with indirect leadership of 16 marketing professionals. Customer acquisition success in the Chinese and Indian markets, growing 25% year-over-year, led to winning a CEO award.

I moved into a newly created role for Farnell, Premier Farnell’s European arm, tasked with building and retaining engagement of the company’s 220K customers across 22 European countries. My team of five became one of the highest-performing, respected teams in the organization, having initiated a customer retention process and an integrated marketing strategy that delivered 5.1% improvements to churn. I also led the strategy and rollout of Salesforce.com for 450 users across 15 countries.

Through a promotion to European Marketing Campaigns Manager I led communications that integrated advertising, direct marketing, ecommerce, sales, events and PR efforts across Europe. Here, I aligned and motivated collaborative, cross-functional teams that united 10 separate business units under one marketing strategy to build faster go-to-market channels. Under a business transformation project I supported the transition of in-person sales channels to ecommerce, delivering cost savings of £1.2M.

I was recruited by Premier Farnell in 2005 and tasked with maximising the alignment between sales and marketing as a European Senior Marketing Executive. I was elevated to UK Senior Marketing Executive after just seven months and implemented direct mail and online campaigns to build brand consistency and drive sales.

I managed a major re-branding project on behalf of the college, working in partnership with a third-party marketing agency. At Leeds College of Music, I also oversaw a wide variety of marketing and communications initiatives

In this role, I planned and implemented a variety of communications campaigns, developed new business pitches and built strong, enduring relationships with media members representing the B2B and B2C sectors.