Motorist names new head of brand and marketing

Singapore-founded automotive technology platform Motorist has appointed Pearlina Chan (pictured) as head of brand and marketing, as it looks to build its regional brand alongside its continued growth across Southeast Asia.

Chan will oversee Motorist's brand, content, media and performance marketing across Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines, with a focus on bringing its brand and performance efforts closer together.

In her new role, Chan will lead the evolution of its regional marketing strategy, bringing brand, content and performance marketing together while keeping its approach locally relevant across markets.

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Chan brings more than 20 years of experience across brand, marketing and communications in Asia Pacific, having previously held marketing roles at Samsung Electronics and senior agency positions at Dentsu and Y&R. Her agency experience included working across regional automotive, technology and consumer brands.

She joins Motorist from Bridgestone Asia Pacific, where she was regional brand marketing lead.

Commenting on her appointment, Chan said her focus is to bring brand, content and performance together across markets, building a consistent regional brand while remaining locally relevant

"Motorist has built a strong performance engine and significant regional momentum. The opportunity now is to build the brand to match, creating demand as well as capturing it, and making Motorist more distinctive and relevant throughout the car ownership journey," said Chan.

"Ultimately, we want Motorist to be a brand drivers think of and turn to throughout car ownership," she added. 

Her appointment comes as Motorist looks to shift its marketing approach beyond demand capture towards longer-term brand and demand creation.

The company has been expanding its regional footprint, with more than half of the vehicles transacted through its platform now coming from outside Singapore.

According to Angela Poh, CEO, Chan's regional brand-building experience and understanding of how marketing can support commercial growth would help the company as it expands across the region.

"Her mandate is to shape a more distinctive Motorist brand across our markets and build the marketing capabilities that will support the Group's next stage of growth," she added.

Founded in 2015, Motorist is an automotive technology platform covering services across the car ownership journey, including buying and selling cars, insurance, financing and vehicle management tools. It operates across five Southeast Asian markets and has assisted nearly 1.9 million motorists, facilitating SG$3 billion in vehicle transactions to date.

Poh was recently appointed CEO, with Motorist founder Damian Sia moving into the role of executive chairman. The group is also targeting a potential public listing in 2028, subject to market conditions and business readiness.

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