Telkomsel hands Derrick Heng CMO reins

Telkomsel, Indonesia’s largest telecom provider, has appointed Derrick Heng (pictured) as CMO. He replaces Rachel Goh, and will report directly to Telkomsel CEO, Hendri Mulya Syam, he told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE.

In his new role, Heng will lead the development of Telkomsel's leading digital lifestyle and connectivity services, especially for the consumer (B2C) segment,. He is also tasked with improving the digital experience for customers.

According to Heng's LinkedIn, he had previously worked at the company as VP for postpaid marketing and loyalty management for three and a half years. He left in July 2016 to join Globe Telecom as senior advisor, small and medium business group, for five years; and later a board member at Third Pillar Business Applications for a year and a half.

Heng had also previously worked at SingTel as senior director, segment marketing and communications, where he was responsible for the management of SingTel consumer group’s marketing initiatives targeting at various customer segments; as stated on his LinkedIn.

Heng told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE that as Telkomsel plans to adopt a two-pronged strategy as the company looks to expand its portfolio in the digital business sustainably. "To continue to optimise our core and legacy businesses, we are revitalising our value proposition to maintain relevance to our customers' needs and digital lifestyles with passion points such as entertainment and gaming, most recently, learning and health," he said.

Heng added that the company plans to foster broader and deeper collaboration through strategic partnerships, whilst also enhancing the digital mindset and skills of its employees.

Separately, Telkomsel recently partnered up InMobi to brings together the big data capabilities from Telkomsel and the end-to-end marketing solutions of InMobi to help brands deliver personalised campaigns. With 105 million mobile Internet subscribers and above 95% 4G population coverage in Indonesia, Telkomsel leverages about 100 unique signals to build high-quality, always-on audiences.

Through the partnership, these audiences will be available for programmatic media buying on the InMobi Exchange. The partnership also gives brands the ability to run surveys on Telkomsel audiences and deepen their understanding of consumer perceptions and preferences. The insights will be powered by InMobi’s AI-driven mobile-first consumer intelligence platform – Pulse. 

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