Search: Digital Future

Wednesday 1 August 2012

It’s time to move on: Farewell Dell, hello Samsung

Samsung logoI write this blog post with some regret, as I’ve really enjoyed my time at Dell, but also with a lot of excitement as I’m moving onto to work at the number 1 brand in Asia, at a time of massive growth.

I have made mistakes in my career, particularly during my early career in Australia. Sure, nothing major – more missed opportunities, paths not taken and the pettiness of office politics as you climb the corporate ladder. But sometimes I think back and wonder “what was I doing?”. I have been given some amazing opportunities to work on some of the best brands in the world (such as Coca-Cola, Citibank and Australia’s own NRMA) but I either I feel that I hadn’t worked there long enough to really do more (I’d love to spend many years really building out great digital initiatives), or that I didn’t have the authority to make lasting, positive change.

Because of this, I made a very deliberate decision to work my arse off, be more than just an employee and do my absolute best to bring a lot of value above and beyond the job description to my next employer. I then made the best decision of my life – I moved to Singapore. This is where it has all started to pay off.

I believe my last 5 years in Singapore have been the best of my life and my career. When I moved to Singapore to join Ogilvy & Mather, I loved it! The country, my role(s) and the brands I had the privilege to work with. At Ogilvy, I was encouraged to network, discuss the cutting edge of what’s possible in digital, and actively promote Ogilvy’s work through social media. This later became the foundation of my industry thought leadership work (that I’ve continued through my role at Dell and now at Samsung). During my time at Ogilvy, I was honoured to be the first leader of Neo@Ogilvy in Singapore, and I founded Ogilvy’s digital and CRM conflict agency, Soho Square.

Then came my time at Dell. Wow! I have sincerely enjoyed working at Dell as their Online Director – Asia Pacific & Japan and Global Social Media Director. I love Dell’s products - sure, there have been some misfires but I believe Dell is on the right track. In my opinion Alienware is the best laptop or PC you can buy (I own 2 of them). Dell is also doing very well its transformation to become a B2B software, services and technology solutions provider. As far as job scope, I managed their online sales and marketing in Asia. Of course, Dell is the pioneer of e-commerce (the first company to hit $1m/day in e-commerce revenue, one of the first to launch eSupport and online discussion forums) and across Dell.com, eTail partners (Taobao, 360Buy, Suning, Amazon, eBay, etc.), mobile and social commerce Dell makes well over US $1 billion in online sales in Asia. It was my job to manage and grow this revenue. As far as I know, it’s the biggest e-commerce job in Asia (well, except for the guys running Amazon, eBay or Tencent of course). And it’s been an amazing experience. In addition, I’ve had the pleasure of leading or being involved in many of Dell’s social media sales & marketing initiatives. Dell is the number 1 social business and has been a pioneer with initiatives like IdeaStorm, DellSwarm, monetising Twitter, Dell TechCenter, socialising the Dell.com purchase path and the launch of Dell’s Social Media Listening Command Centre (to listen and respond to over 25,000 social media conversations every day about the Dell brand).

Now I’m moving onto Samsung Asia. I’m starting on Monday 6th August. My new role is Regional Marketing Director, Digital & Social Media. This is a newly created role that comes with both a lot of expectations and a fair degree of aspiration. I aim to help transform Samsung into a digital powerhouse. My ambition is that Samsung will be recognised as the leader in social media and that the digital marketing bar will be raised well and truly to global best practice level. It’s a tough ask but I’ve got a huge advantage because Samsung is already the number 1 brand in Asia, and one of the top 10 in the world. They also have top notch talent and great agency partners.

If you have any ideas, are already working at Samsung or at one of Samsung’s agencies, please reach out – I’d love to hear from you on how we can make Samsung the digital leader. It’s a really exciting time in my life and I look forward to working with you.

24 comments:

Andrea WTB Edwards said...

Really classy Damien - well done!

Unknown said...

Thank you Andrea, I appreciate your kind words. I look forward to catching up soon to see if we can do something together at Samsung. :)

Unknown said...

Many Congratulations Damien, I know we will miss you , but at least I get the chance to keep getting your updates via linked in I hope ;)

Good luck
Luigi

StevendBradley said...

Awesome stuff, congrats on the move and best of luck for the future.

Steven

Unknown said...

Thank you Luigi. It's tough moving on from Dell but I'm sure things will get bigger and brighter there as Dell becomes the number 1 B2B tech solutions company. I'll do what I can to keep my LinkedIn updates fresh and relevant.

Unknown said...

Thank you Steven. How's everything going with your new role? Have you settled in at Alinta yet?

Unknown said...

Wow, Damien, Samsung is a really exciting brand to grow and behold. Congrats! You will do well.

Rgds,
Jowena

Unknown said...

Thank you Jowena, I hope everything's going well for you at DBS. :)

Meraj Huda said...

Congratulations Damien, I am sure it's well deserved. Always enjoyed working in your team at OOne. Great, honest blog.

Unknown said...

Thanks Meraj, I appreciate the compliment. And yes, it was great working together at Ogilvy. I hope we have chance to work together again in the future.

Brent Cohen said...

Great move, Damien! Thrilled for you (newly married gent that you are) and excited to see what you'll do at Samsung. Keep up the great work and thought leadership.

Unknown said...

Thank you Brent. Yes, it's been double happiness - Rachel and I were married (twice!) in June and now I start an awesome new job. Life is great at the moment. :)

Siti Arbaiya said...

Wow Damien!
Sad day for Dell. Good luck!

Unknown said...

Thank you Siti. :)

Nuttakorn Rattanachaisit said...

Congrats Damien!

Unknown said...

Thank you Nuttakorn, I really appreciate it!

Unknown said...

Congratulations for the new challenge! Sounds exciting and I'm looking forward to reconnect and help to drive consumers into stores to buy more Samsung products. :)

Unknown said...

Thanks Christian, I hope things are going well for you at YOOSE. :)

Unknown said...

Congrats, nice post Damien. With a new challenge on the work front and domestic bliss on the personal side, if we didn't know you embraced change previously, then we know it now... :) All the very best with everything! Cheers, John

Drake said...

Hi Dan,

Would like to ask if there is any job opportunity that I could explore with you in Samsung (digital marketing/social media role)? Or maybe you could share contact(s) for Dell?

Looking forward to your reply, thanks.

Drake

Unknown said...

Hi Drake, my name is Damien, not Dan. That aside, if you'd like to apply for Samsung roles the best thing to do is connect with me on LinkedIn or talk to the Samsung HR department directly.

Thanks,

Damien

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

Hello Damien,
Really nice to read your blog and your amazing career progression.
I really enjoyed my time working with you at Dell and mostly our Austin trips together.
All the best with Samsung.
Keep in touch
Cheers
JC

artistefrustre said...

Good day Mr. Damien!

Thank you for that very inspiring post! I wish someday I could work for Samsung too. I really want to be an intern in their headquarters in Seoul. :) Please continue writing articles that inspire people.

Carolin