Shopee regional marketing head departs

Shopee regional marketing head Huiyan Pan has stepped down after seven years with the eCommerce platform, as she pivots toward what she calls her “career version 2.0” in leadership coaching.

Speaking to MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, Pan said the decision was driven by a shift in where she derives the most fulfilment at work.

“I’ve grown so much over the past seven years in Shopee as a leader, and I realised that my largest fulfillment in recent times comes from seeing the team and leaders I’ve groomed grow further in their careers, whether within Shopee, or continuing to do great things after Shopee,” she said.

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She added, “Given I’m turning 40 in two years, I thought hard about the impact I want to create for the years to come, and what would be most aligned with me this season of my career and life. Since my teams are stable, and as I gained more clarity on my ‘career version 2.0’, I decided to take the leap of faith and follow where a sense of purpose guides me. I told myself, ‘If not now, then when?’”

Pan unveiled her departure in a LinkedIn post on 31 March, noting that she would be skipping the traditional internal farewell email and large send-off party in favour of smaller, more personal conversations.

She joined Shopee in 2019 as regional content marketing lead and later held roles including head of brand marketing and communications, Malaysia; head of marketing, Philippines; and regional marketing head. Her regional scope covered mainly Southeast Asia and Taiwan, while also supporting Brazil.

Over her tenure, Pan led teams of more than 600 across multiple markets and oversaw iconic campaigns featuring Cristiano Ronaldo and Jackie Chan, as well as the growth of newer platforms such as Shopee Live and the Shopee Affiliate Programme. She also directly managed marketing departments in Malaysia and the Philippines, giving her a mix of regional and local responsibility.

“The journey and impact felt more meaningful because my role spanned both regional and local,” she said, adding that despite the commercial and campaign milestones, “the most meaningful outcome would be growing people in my teams – seeing them through different life stages and achieving great things in their careers.”

Pan said she hopes to be remembered internally as “the leader that brought people together through thick and thin.” She added that a successor has already been in place for several months.

“The successor has been in Shopee longer than I have, so our teams and partners are in good hands. I shared my personal plans with the company months in advance last year, to ensure we can manage a seamless transition for everyone,” she said.

Post-Shopee, Pan will focus on expanding her leadership coaching business, Career Big Sis & Co., which she started last year to help middle managers advance as trusted leaders without burning out. The venture currently includes community events and 1-on-1 coaching, and she plans to roll out a leadership bootcamp for middle managers, a group she describes as “underserved” despite bearing immense pressure as the “sandwiched layer” in organisations.

Before joining Shopee, Pan spent nearly five years at StyleHaul and held agency roles at BBDO Singapore and JWT.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to Shopee for a statement. 

Her exit comes amid other notable senior marketing movements in Singapore. Earlier this month, Agatha Yap departed her role as director of marketing, communications and loyalty at Scoot and subsequently joined Mandai Wildlife Group as chief marketing officer.

At Mandai, she steps into the CMO role as the Mandai Wildlife Reserve nears completion, while Jean Choi continues to lead commercial strategy and global partnerships as chief sales officer. Yap previously held senior positions at McDonald’s Singapore, Sentosa Development Corporation and Watsons Singapore, and began her career with agency roles at Euro RSCG, BBDO and Bates.

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