Exit interview: KPJ Healthcare’s group marketing head reflects on change at scale

As she closes a significant chapter at KPJ Healthcare, Aina Nadzir is leaving her role as head of group marketing with hard-earned perspective, and a deep sense of gratitude for the team she led.

Aina had helmed the head of group marketing role since October 2025, but overall, she had been with KPJ Healthcare for two years. She was previously the general manager for commercial and partnerships, group marketing, before stepping up as the general manager for commercial and marketing, group marketing. 

Prior to joining the private specialist healthcare provider, Aina had spent 16 years at Telekom Malaysia (TM), handling branding, marcomms, customer experience (CX), and more. She later spent over a year as the assistant vice president and general manager for customer behaviour and growth management at Boustead Holdings. 

Reflecting on her tenure leading marketing at KPJ, Aina points first to growth that translated directly into patient outcomes. Under her leadership, KPJ recorded a sharp rise in outpatient numbers, driven by coordinated execution across its hospital network. “In 2025, we grew outpatient growth percentage by fourfold compared to previous years,” she said, adding that it was the result of “disciplined execution, sharper data tracking and multiple groupwide tactical screening campaigns rolled out across 30 hospitals”.

Alignment at that scale, she noted, required resilience and difficult conversations, but the payoff was clear.

Seeing real patient impact made it worth every effort.

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Another defining milestone was the rollout of the KPJ eReferral platform, which addressed long-standing fragmentation in the GP to specialist referral journey. Previously manual and heavily dependent on individual coordination, the process was transformed through automation and visibility across KPJ’s hospitals and nationwide GP partners. “Beyond efficiency, it brings visibility and accountability,” Aina explained.

“It captures referral flows, closes the loop between primary and specialist care, and ensures patients experience smoother continuity in their treatment journey.” For her, the initiative represented a rare balance between system, data and care, while strengthening relationships across the healthcare ecosystem.

Beyond operational improvements, Aina also focused on extending KPJ’s relevance outside traditional hospital marketing. Partnerships with brands including Marriott International, Watsons, Wardah and Decathlon helped the group engage audiences in lifestyle-driven spaces. “Healthcare does not live in isolation,” she said. “It lives in lifestyle, travel, sport, beauty and family.” The expanded presence, she believes, played a role in sustaining KPJ’s share of voice leadership among private hospital groups.

Yet some of the work she values most was less visible. Leading marketing across 30 hospitals meant navigating different leadership styles and market realities. Building shared clarity, she admitted, “was not glamorous work”, but it was essential. “I am proud of the discipline and maturity the team developed through that journey.”

In her parting words, Aina emphasised people over process. To her team, she said, “Transformation is never comfortable. Expectations were high and the pace was intense, yet you continued to show up and grow.” She encouraged them to keep challenging ideas respectfully and to:

Never underestimate the power of marketing when it is anchored in the right purpose.

Looking ahead, Aina is intentionally pressing pause. With Ramadan and Eid approaching, she is taking time to recalibrate after what she describes as an intense and transformative period. While brand building, customer experience and growth transformation remain close to her heart, she will be taking a short break.

"Stepping back to gain clarity and perspective feels both necessary and timely," she shared. "For now, I am embracing a more reflective season before stepping into the next chapter."

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