Tim Hortons nabs Deliveroo's Minjoo Lee as APAC director of marketing

Tim Hortons has named Minjoo Lee-Zeitler (pictured) as its new director of marketing for Asia Pacific (APAC), as the Canadian coffee chain looks to deepen its presence and grow brand relevance across the region.

In the new role, Lee-Zeitler will lead brand strategy, consumer marketing and product innovation across APAC, while overseeing overall marketing performance. She will also serve as a strategic advisor to Tim Hortons' franchise partners, helping identify growth opportunities and collaborative solutions as the business scales.

Her remit spans all of Tim Hortons' existing markets in APAC, including China, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Pakistan, as well as any new markets the brand enters in the future.

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In conversation with MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, Lee-Zeitler said that her key objective is to drive brand growth across APAC by strengthening Tim Hortons' relevance with consumers, while maintaining consistency across markets. The broader goal, she said, is to make Tim Hortons the preferred choice for consumers in the region and deliver greater value to local franchise partners.

Lee-Zeitler joins Tim Hortons from Deliveroo where she most recently served as head of marketing for Singapore. In that role, she led growth strategy, product marketing, and partner and promotional campaigns across Deliveroo's core business, new verticals and subscription offerings, according to her LinkedIn.

Prior to Deliveroo, she held regional marketing roles at Shangri-La Group, Wingstop and Yum! Brands, where she managed teams and led brand initiatives across multiple markets.

Speaking to her appointment, Lee-Zeitler said that "Tim Hortons is a brand that is relatively new in the region, and I'm excited to help shape Tim Hortons' story in APAC at this pivotal moment." 

"The brand and product portfolio have a lot of potential and I'm committed to working with talented teams and franchise partners to bring the growth vision to life and deliver our unique success story," she added. 

Lee-Zeitler's appointment comes amid a series of leadership moves across the food and beverage sector. Most recently, Peilin Lee stepped down as head of marketing at Nespresso Singapore after seven years to launch her own venture focused on leadership development and strategic communication.

At Nespresso, Lee oversaw the full marketing function across both B2C and B2B, with responsibilities spanning brand strategy, product innovation, customer experience and partnerships. A key part of her remit involved translating global direction into locally relevant strategies designed to drive growth while building long-term brand relevance.

In Malaysia, PepsiCo Malaysia named Debra Deyvitah as its new head of marketing for foods. In her expanded role, Deyvitah will oversee the brand and marketing strategy across the snacks and nutrition portfolios in Malaysia, including flagship names such as Lay’s, Doritos, and Quaker.

Reporting directly to PepsiCo’s Asia foods chief marketing officer based in the Philippines, Deyvitah's remit includes driving growth, enhancing brand relevance, and delivering sustainable results through market execution and innovation.

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