Clarks Shoes builds up APAC team, hires Karen Chan to head up digital

Karen Chan, former chief digital officer of Yum! Brands has taken on a new role at Clarks Shoes. She will be the head of digital transformation for Asia Pacific, and is tasked with forming a team to lead the digital transformation of the 170-year-old British shoe brand.Marketing understands that the company is currently in the midst of building up its Asia Pacific regional division based out of Singapore, and looking to make a push in retail and omni-channel marketing. In her new role, Chan will be tasked to develop a strategic road map for Clarks across owned online retail platforms as well as partnerships with marketplace.She will be reporting to Jack Quinlan, president of Clarks APAC. He was last senior VP at Fossil Asia Pacific.“I’m very honoured to be part of Clarks’ new Asia Pacific regional team," Chan told Marketing.“Clarks is such an iconic brand with over 170 years of history. We’re on an exciting journey to bring Clarks’ heritage, expertise and quality to Asia Pacific.  Digital will be the enabler to drive relevance and engagement with our Asian consumers,” she said.Prior to the role with Clarks, Chan was with Yum! Pizza Hut Asia Pacific for over two years where she oversaw digital transformation for the region, and drive growth through launching regional e-commerce platforms across web and app, optimised CRM solutions and unlocking digital value from online to in-store with the introduction of AI. She oversaw 15 markets and worked closely with master franchisees to build digital capability in-market.She was also with Dominos and Coca-Cola in a regional capacity.