Lazada Group CMO Marcus Chew steps down

Marcus Chew (pictured), group chief marketing officer at Lazada Group, has stepped down from his role, MARKETING-INTERACTIVE understands.

Chew joined Lazada in 2021 as group CMO, overseeing the eCommerce platform’s end-to-end marketing strategy across Southeast Asia and South Asia, including its Daraz business. In the role, he led brand strategy, creative development, media execution and go-to-market planning across 11 markets.

During his tenure, Chew drove efforts to centralise marketing operations and in-house key capabilities, including media strategy and execution. He also focused on building scalable, insight-led marketing processes, with an emphasis on measurement frameworks tied to both business impact and creative effectiveness.

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Prior to Lazada, Chew was CMO at NTUC Income from 2013 to 2021. As part of the insurer’s executive leadership team, he led the transformation of its marketing function, including building out its martech stack and scaling its digital business.

His remit spanned brand, media, CRM, analytics, PR and internal communications, alongside responsibility for eCommerce growth.

Earlier in his career, Chew held regional marketing leadership roles at adidas, where he oversaw brand marketing and PR across China and Southeast Asia. He was responsible for integrated campaign planning, media investment and talent partnerships, as well as localising global campaigns for regional markets.

Chew began his career at Unilever, where he led the home and personal care portfolio across Singapore and Malaysia. He managed brands such as Sunsilk, Dove and Lux, and held full P&L responsibility for the division.

During his time there, he launched several products, including CLEAR and Lifebuoy, and achieved category leadership milestones in both markets. He also previously served as regional marketing director at Sime Darby.

His departure comes amid a broader wave of senior marketing leadership changes in the region. Last month, Peilin Lee, head of marketing at Nespresso Singapore, exited after seven years to start her own business focused on leadership development and strategic communication.

At Nespresso, Lee led the full marketing function across both B2C and B2B.  Her role spanned brand strategy, product innovation, customer experience and partnerships. A key part of her role involved translating global direction into locally relevant growth, building both the business and the brand in a way that could sustain long-term relevance. 

In Malaysia, Foodpanda marketing director Steff Yong has also stepped down from her role, marking yet another leadership change for the delivery platform’s local team. Announcing her departure in a LinkedIn post, Yong described her tenure as “a wild and memorable” experience, expressing gratitude to her team and colleagues.

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