What made you interested in AI?

It’s hard to discuss the trajectory of human-led progress without bringing in AI, especially when you are enabling digital transformation for businesses. I strongly believe that Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be the bedrock of digital evolution in the years ahead, sooner than later. Today, the only difference between AI and human intelligence is empathy or Emotional Quotient (EQ) and any insufficiency of these two will result in mediocre and insensitive interactions with customers. At Resulticks, we are taking a multidisciplinary approach to understanding how AI can be best leveraged in marketing. With data and technology becoming critical to business growth, the challenge of consolidating, integrating and analyzing first-party data to make it more actionable, contextualized and relevant has never been more pronounced for a marketer. This is a key pain point that we are trying to solve through our AI-powered marketing automation platform Resulticks.

How has your AI journey been so far? Can you recall some highlights?

Before launching Resulticks in 2014, my business partner Dakshen and I spent years running an independent full-service digital communications company from Singapore where we enabled business growth for over 150 global brands across industries. This gave us a first-hand understanding of the challenges faced by marketers in optimizing digital initiatives. There were no adequate tools marketers could rely on to effectively deploy, track and course-correct digital initiatives. We could also spot trends in the way digital technologies were dominating several aspects of not just digital marketing, but customer experiences and customer acquisitions. This is when we realized the need to create an integrated marketing automation solution that delivers on the full promise of omnichannel, outcome-driven customer engagement. Resulticks was created with the underlying belief that while data is the foundation of omnichannel customer engagement, AI is the key to unlocking its full power. This approach has led us to develop and incorporate over 75 AI models into the core of the platform to enhance a wide array of capabilities. We continue to refine these models that already empower our platform while developing new ones to support more advanced functionalities for our clients.

Resulticks’ continuous exploration of AI’s potential to elevate marketing efforts for businesses has not only delivered tangible and measurable outcomes for our clients but has also earned recognition worldwide. Just in our third year since inception, Resulticks was the first platform from Asia to be placed in the Gartner Magic Quadrant (GMQ) for Multichannel Campaign Management. Ever since then, we have been featured and growing within the GMQ and now sit on the cusp of breaking into the next quadrant. Specific to AI, in April 2020, Resulticks won the “Elevating Customer Experience with AI” award at the Microsoft AI Awards 2.0.

Resulticks’ AI-driven capabilities have delivered significant uplifts in outcomes for our clients. Our advanced segmentation allows marketers to create sharper target segments as well as dynamic targeting lists in just a few minutes – a speed unheard of. For instance, we contributed to a 51% growth in incremental revenue for online health check packages, purchased as a result of effective and precise segmentation for a healthcare brand.

What are the major challenges you faced as a woman in reaching where you are right now?

Much of my early career was based in Asia, but I’ve since had the opportunity and good fortune to work for some of the most recognizable brands across many industries worldwide. In Asia, I see that women are beginning to have more opportunities to advance to leadership positions and I see a lot more potential for more, especially compared to the West.

Women do face impediments in getting to leadership positions and in general, at the workplace — of late it’s good to see these are coming to the fore and being addressed by those willing to imagine a more capacious world for all genders. It’s important to cultivate confidence in your ideas and capabilities; it’s just as important to remain cognizant of the forces that have prevented women from fully carving out their paths in the world. I have been inspired by women who balance intellect, creativity, gumption and empathy in their ambition to build their career.

Personally, I can say I’ve always believed that I can go toe-to-toe in business with anyone—male or female. I’m not rattled by challenges or to take informed risks. I do things my way when I’m sure I’m right, but I’m also able to change my mind when someone else has a better idea.

In leadership positions, women tend to bring a high level of creativity to our decision making; we’re meticulous, systematic, process and goal-oriented. In my experience, these qualities have a distinct advantage, especially in technology-driven businesses.

What's your area of expertise?

I spent years leading the creation and execution of innovative digital marketing strategies for brands across the world. I also made the best of opportunities I could to enhance my knowledge and hands-on experiences in the technology domain, although I am not educated to be a technologist, which Dakshen is. We built Resulticks from the ground up to address the myriad marketing challenges faced by marketers. I’ve also been involved in the development of AI models to deliver capabilities that can drive concrete outcomes for marketers. In a nutshell, I’d like to say that I am a good mix of left and right brain that brings together creative, data and technology to empower digital practitioners to optimise their efforts as they go about redefining marketing to be a revenue-generating function which has been the criticism that most marketing leaders have had to deal with thus far. Technology has indeed brought up a paradigm shift in that.

What's the one thing that you see AI transforming completely?

AI will have an impact on the entire world in multiple ways. It will impact every industry and the life of every human being in some way or the other. Take self-driving cars for example. It will not only revolutionize the auto industry but will also have an impact in other industries such as roadways in terms of infrastructure and traffic systems to accommodate self-driving cars, real estate in terms of construction of automatic car parking, the airline and hotel industry, the insurance industry as self-driving cars start getting more popular. Staying with the same example, self-driving cars will also present an important opportunity for marketers. Cars itself will become the marketing medium. Since passenger will not be driving, while in the car, she can be engaged with brand messages or for that matter, online shopping. Marketers can send precise information/content to the customer and use their time availability to their benefit. They can share targeted and hyper-personalized ads/offers to the customers through the information gathered from IoT devices.

With the advent of self-driving cars, the auto industry will not only be a consumer of data but also a major generator of data. A single self-driving car could generate innumerable data every second which brings to the table the question of data privacy. Every measure needs to be taken to protect a customer’s privacy by ensuring compliance with local data privacy regulations. This will need joint efforts from the regulatory authority, car manufacturers, fleet owners and other stakeholders.

AI has enabled us to deliver tailored communications and experiences to consumers like never before, and this sophistication will only get better. However, governments, communities and companies have to determine right parameters within which AI can leverage personal data so that personalization does not end up being seen as an intrusion.

How can bias in AI be addressed? 

It’s important to constantly re-examine AI algorithms to identify questionable patterns reflective of biases in society. We need to conceive how these algorithms can serve an inclusive world, and talents from diverse backgrounds around the globe should be involved in their creation. Also, the development of AI algorithms should be more localized to suit a particular region/demography. This can be achieved only when local engineers, programmers develop AI algorithms to suit customized needs.

Your biggest AI nightmare?

Many have made grim predictions of AI, but most are hyperbolic. However, it’s not hard to understand their underlying cause of concern —that it’s hard to imagine AI being capable of recognizing, empathizing with, and acting on the ambiguities and subtleties that define humanity. Our lives are never just linear chains of events. It’s a complex tangle of patterns, attachments, emotions, fantasies and so much more. Maybe one day we can get AI to accommodate all of that, but letting AI determine all aspects of our lives is indeed a terrifying thought.

What's your advice for other women who want to pursue a similar journey?

Just be resilient enough to go after your dreams. Have faith and build faith in your teams. When you combine your belief with determination, nothing can stop you from achieving your goal.