Pizza Hut Malaysia names Emily Chong CMO as Jean Ler steps down

Pizza Hut Malaysia has named deputy GM of marketing, Emily Chong (pictured left), CMO. She has been with the company for three years and oversees brand management and retail marketing. Prior to Pizza Hut, Chong was with PETRONAS as regional marketing manager for less than a year, according to her LinkedIn. She also worked at Kimberly Clark as group marketing manager, Unilever as brand manager, and Cadbury as brand manager. Chong reports to head of Pizza Hut, Loi Liang Tok.

She replaces former CMO Jean Ler (pictured right) who told A+M that she left last month to oversee her healing business. Ler first joined the company in 2016 and prior to that was with PETRONAS as regional head of marketing, Asia. She also worked at Mondelez, Kellogg's and Friesland Campina.

In a statement to A+M, Ler said Pizza Hut was the brand that introduced pizza and cheese to her, and is part of the many memories that she has formed over the years. "Three years ago, I was lucky to be given the opportunity to manage this brand and turn it around. Over the three years, I’m pleased to see that the brand has been rejuvenated with various marketing campaigns and innovations, by the handwork of my great marketing team," Ler said.

She added that the brand, along with many customers, have rediscovered the potential of the brand and rekindled with it. "It was a great milestone for me being the CMO of Pizza Hut brand," she added. While growing brands as a marketer over the past eight years, Ler explainer that she never stopped growing herself spiritually. 

"I have been practicing and pursuing healing work and self discovery through a meditation technique named Thetahealing over the years. This healing modality has helped me become a stronger and better person through belief change and instilling positive feelings," she said.

Ler added that at this juncture of life, with so much going on around the world, it is time for her to put on her other hat as a certified Thetahealing practitioner and instructor. "Knowing that the Pizza Hut brand is left in good hands of strong team, I can now focus on this healing work to help people release stress, cope with the change and thrive with it," she added.

Meanwhile, the pizza chain also launched its nasi lemak pizza inspired by Malaysia's rich culture and consumers' love for everything fusion in their lives. The campaign features the tagline "Rasa Campur, Lagi Bes Bersama" and runs until 31 August. Created by Pizza Hut Malaysia’s food innovation technologist team, the nasi lemak pizza features a pizza topped with spicy sambal, paired with crispy chicken chunks and must have condiments such as anchovies, peanuts and cucumbers.

To kick off the campaign, Pizza Hut and its social agency Fishermen Integrated paid tribute to its fellow competitors that have embraced Malaysia's campur culture. They include McDonald's Malaysia's nasi lemak burger, and Marrybrown's nasi lemak ice cream. In a Facebook post, the pizza chain said despite their differences, they will always come together for their love of nasi lemak. Pizza Hut's spokesperson said the creation of the nasi lemak pizza took six months and the pizza chain wants to continue to be culturally relevant and in tune with every day Malaysians. 

The spokesperson added that the campaign will roll out in two phases, beginning with the introduction of the product. The second phase of the campaign is designed to commemorate the upcoming Merdeka Day. "We want to be part of the journey that our countrymen is going through and is proud to be able to tell the story of this great nation," the spokesperson explained.

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