Meet Jee Moon: B&T Bootcamp Mentor And VP Of Marketing For Amex

B&T Bootcamp is less than a month away but don’t worry, there’s still time to grab your tix (but they’re selling out quick sticks so be fast!)

In the lead up to this not-to-be-missed event we thought we’d interview some of the amazing mentors you’ll hear from on the day, and their thoughts on all things media, marketing and advertising.

B&T Bootcamp takes place on 18^th March at the Federation Conference Centre in Surry Hills. Check out the full line-up on the website and grab your tickets today!

Jee Moon is the Vice President of Marketing for American Express Global Merchant Services, responsible for the Asia Pacific region. She is a seasoned marketer with over 20 years of management experience building and transforming brands and businesses across the US, Europe, Middle East and Asia Pacific.

Prior to joining Amex, Jee held chief marketing roles at organisations such as Luxottica (retail and healthcare), Best&Less (retail), Westpac (financial services), Vodafone, Dell and Canon. In her last two roles in retail, she was part of the executive teams, responsible for the turnaround of the businesses, returning them to growth and profitability. Jee holds a BA in International Relations from Tufts University in Boston, MA, and an MBA from the University of Cambridge, UK. In 2016 she was named one of Australia’s top 50 CMO and in 2018 qualified to serve as board director.

Check out our interview with Jee below!

How vital are young people to the marketing communications industry?

Young people are the lifeblood of the industry! Not only in obvious terms of regeneration, but also in terms of keeping us relevant as marketers and in touch with the customers to whom we are communicating. They know what they next generation of customers desire and demand, and how they communicate and like to be communicated to. They keep us in touch.

How are young people “disrupting” the marketing communications industry?

The new generation know what they want, and that they wanted it yesterday. They have a level of confidence I didn’t have when I was starting out, and a clarity of direction that sets a breath-taking pace. They are motivated by a new currency of rewards, they are fearless in their data exchange, bottomless in their hunger for the new, and so tribal in their movement on trends. These dynamics are driving change.

What can the industry do to attract and retain young talent?

We need to rethink the value exchange, and the traditional ways of rewarding talent in order to attract the talent. No longer is it about pay, it is also about place (of work) and purpose. In terms of retention, we need to appreciate that what might appear fickleness in career choices is actually a different view on careers – “job for life” became “career for life” has become “career for now.” This nomadic view of careers is also an opportunity for the marketing industry as it affords us talent from all manner of other talent pools who might now be interested in marketing, and can bring us new ideas and norms.

What’s the biggest challenge young people face in the marketing communications industry?

Despite all the changes, the basic principles of marketing remain the same. And there is a risk that we lose sight of those fundamental principles and get carried away with the new tactics.

How can young people avoid ‘burn-out’ and create a better work-life balance while working in the industry?

I feel like they have got this worked out better than I have!

How important is ‘passion’ in the industry?

Passion is an eternal differentiator, cannot be automated and will be the difference between talent and machine.

If you could re-do the start of your career, what would you change?

I started in advertising in the middle of the dotcom boom, in San Francisco near Silicon Valley, when it was raining money and there was a relative drought on common sense. I wish I had had more of an appreciation of how lucky I was to be there in that moment, and not have been so focused on tomorrow and the next rung on the ladder.

What wouldn’t you change?

My naivety and curiosity.

What’s one piece of advice you’d give young people starting out in the industry?

It’s a people business. Be interested in people (the essence of marketing), surround yourself with good people, and choose good people over other trappings.

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B&T Bootcamp Jee Moon