27/05/2026
Thrilled to see Dr. Fareeda Cassumbhoy, Group Chief Digital Officer of Pico Group, take the stage at Marketing & SMAU 5th Marketing Exchange Forum 2026— "The Future Asian Consumer: AI, Identity and Transformation"(29 May, Soho House Hong Kong).
Few leaders can speak to digital and AI transformation from both sides of the table. Dr Fareeda can.
🔹 The CDO lens: At Pico, she led a multi-phased transformation of a 50+ year-old global brand activation powerhouse — ripping out legacy systems, rebuilding the data backbone, and creating the ExQ™ (Experience Quotient) — an AI-accelerated algorithm that finally measures the ROI of physical brand experiences through Relevance, Attention, and Interest. In her words: “If you cannot measure, you cannot understand. If you cannot understand, you cannot improve."
🔹 The scholar lens: Her freshly minted CityUHK DBA thesis extends Upper Echelons Theory with a bold new contribution — the Mixed Echelons Theory”. Her insight? In fast-moving Asian markets shaped by Douyin, Meituan, and Alibaba, digital transformation cannot be top-down alone. The CDO must be informed by the digitally-native frontline as much as by the C-suite. Bottom-up meets top-down — that's where real transformation happens.
For anyone building the future Asian consumer playbook, this is the rare voice that bridges boardroom strategy and shop-floor signal, experience design and data science, DT and AI-T.
Can't wait to hear her insights. 👏
Registration still open: https://bit.ly/4cWLqVG
Event details:
🗓️ 29 May 2026
📍 Soho House, Sheung Wan