Jerome Leroux

Responsible for the strategic, operational and financial management of the company's business in the Greater China region, including offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Shenyang, Wuhan, Taiwan, and Hong Kong

Communications, brand positioning, sales & marketing strategy for a variety of clients in Aviation, Trade, Retail, Travel, and Tourism sectors

Overseeing organic business development efforts and strategies across 14 markets in Asia-Pacific, as well as Mergers & Acquisitions

Key achievements:

Opened 3 new offices in less than 3 years, achieving profitability in Year One
Grew China team from 50 staff to nearly 100 with matching revenues
Wan the largest contract ever awarded to the agency in China (multi-million dollar)
Reorganized Finance & Accounting division, leading to faster clients payments, fewer past-due invoices and improved company cash flow

Development of marketing, communications and market entry strategies for European brands seeking to enter the Chinese market

CEO-level client counsel on communications & media outreach campaigns

Development of strategic alliances & partnerships with key stakeholders, including foreign embassies, trade organizations, chambers of commerce, NGOs & Chinese government

Leadership in new business development, from proposal drafting to client presentation

Supervision of a multi-cultural consulting team, including Chinese nationals and foreign staff

Previous 8 months spent in Beijing studying Mandarin language and Chinese culture

As head of Weber Shandwick Saudi Arabia, I was in charge of:

Operations & Human Resources: all operational aspects of running Saudi Arabia’s largest marketing & communications agency, e.g.: recruitment, training, and development of consulting team members, from entry-level to seniors

Financials & Business Development: Revenue forecasting, expenditures management, agency budgeting, full P&L responsibilities; RFP responses & lead generation

Client Servicing: CEO & Board-level counsel focused on strategic corporate communications, brand strategy & development, and corporate restructuring for several Fortune 500 MNCs, Saudi exchange-listed and privately-owned conglomerates

Key Achievements (internal):

Wan largest contract ever in the 15-year history of the agency in Saudi Arabia

Transformed the agency from USD 600, 000/year in revenues to USD 3M+

Pioneered the first ever all-female consulting team in Saudi Arabia, becoming the only agency in Saudi Arabia with a team to specifically serve the needs of female-focused brands

Initiated and developed the first ever Digital & Social Media service team in Saudi Arabia

Key Achievements (external):

Appointed head of the regional media relations team (responsibilities over 14 countries) on SABIC account, the world’s largest integrated communications contract in value (USD 12M+)

Developed Saudi Arabia’s first Energy Sustainability Campaign on behalf of its largest government-owned oil company

Lead the corporate restructuring (Marketing, Communications, CSR) of the largest publicly-listed logistics company in the country resulting in share price up 30% in 2 months

Developed Saudi Arabia’s counter Intellectual Property piracy strategy and country-wide media relations & awareness program which received Ministerial-level approval

Reorganized Microsoft’s corporate & marketing communications program, leading to consistently outperforming its two main competitors (Google & Apple)

Became the only agency in the Middle East North Africa region to handle all 4 of Microsoft’s Business Units communications programs

Management of the Corporate & Finance practice; supervision of a team of 8 consultants, media specialists, and copywriters

Strategic and tactical senior-level public relations, media & communications counsel for the following clients:

-Banking & Financial Services: Barclays Bank, Barclays Wealth, Barclays Capital, Black Rock, iShares, National Bank of Abu Dhabi
-Professional Services: PRTM Management Consultants, Tetrahedron Consulting
-Media & Information Services: The Economist, The Economist Intelligence Unit
-Investment: Global Capital Development

Key Achievements:

>>150% increase in Barclays Bank’s media coverage in less than 3 months through a more tailored and more proactive media outreach program

>>Tripled the scope of Barclays Wealth’s corporate communications program, from UAE-only to regional, resulting in greater coverage and brand awareness with no additional cost to Barclays

>>30% decrease in overhead cost of the Corporate & Finance practice by structuring the team more efficiently and allocating human resources based on performance, not seniority

CEO/CFO-level client counsel on financial communications strategy consulting for publicly-listed and pre-IPO companies in Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia

Organized investor road shows, analyst presentations and press conferences

Liaison with equity analysts, fund managers, shareholders and business media to ensure appropriate understanding of clients’ fundamentals, improve clients’ stock performance and generate positive coverage in financial media

Conducted seminars on corporate communications strategy for the Stock Exchange of Thailand and the Malaysian Stock Exchange

Key Achievements:

>>First foreigner ever to conduct a seminar on best-practice Corporate Communications & Investor Relations in front of members of the Stock Exchange of Thailand

>>Reorganized investor relations program of the country’s 2nd largest infrastructure investment group to meet new stock market regulations

>>Reorganized investor relations program of Petro Vietnam Investment Corp. and Petro Vietnam Financing Corp. to achieve international level of governance and transparency

>>Increased real estate client’s market capitalization by 100% in 9 months, making the stock the best performing on the Thai stock exchange in 2010

>>Increased client’s analysts coverage by 150% in less than 6 months and increased ‘Buy’ rating from 30% to 90% of analysts, while decreasing ‘Sell’ rating from 30% to none

>>Increased clients brand awareness by 30% among key financial stakeholders and media coverage by 50% by restructuring client’s communications department and developing more segmented media outreach program

Designed, planned and managed marketing & corporate communications, public and media relations campaigns for a variety of multinational corporations and major Thai companies

Initiated and managed Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Public Affairs programs

Provided CEO-level client counsel, communications & marketing strategy advice

Organized press conferences, media trips, product launches, exhibitions and special events

Supervised a team of 10 consultants & support staff

Key Achievements:

>>Managed 3 of the agency’s Top 5 largest accounts

>>Increased Corporate team’s revenues by 20% in the first 3 months

>>Launched and managed the CSR & Public Affairs program of DTAC, Thailand’s 2nd largest telecommunications company

>>Initiated the CSR and University Outreach program of Rolls-Royce, the largest power systems provider to Thailand’s airline industry and armed forces

In charge of marketing & corporate communications, public and media relations campaigns for multinational corporations and leading Thai companies:

Real Estate: Raimon Land, Istithmar, IFA Hotel & Resorts
Alcohol & Tobacco: Japan Tobacco International, Khao Yai Winery, PB Wine
Automobiles: Volvo, Mercedes Benz, Toyota, TSL Auto Corp.
Education: Wall Street Institute; Broadcasting: CNN
Oil & Gas: Canadoil
Insurance: AIA Group; ING

* Provided senior-level client counsel, communication & marketing strategy advice

* Responsible for hiring, training and supervising team composed of 8 account executives and account managers, translator, copywriter and press monitoring specialists

Key Achievements:

>>Increased accounts value under management by 50% in the first year with no added cost

>>Responsible for 60% of the agency’s client portfolio

>>Tripled education client’s media coverage by expanding its marketing & corporate communications program and fully integrating it into its overall business development program

>>Launched client’s CEO Profiling and Thought Leadership program leading to CEO being named “Real Estate Personality of the Year” at the inaugural Thailand Property Awards

>>Reorganized Volvo’s media relations program, resulting in media coverage that outperformed its Top 4 competitors 90% of the time

Marketing Manager (Austin, Texas, USA/Adelaide, Australia) 2002- 2006

Public Affairs Consultant; Registered Lobbyist (Austin, Texas, USA) 1999- 2002

Press & Media Specialist (Paris, France) 1998 -1999

Legislative Aide (Austin, Texas, USA) 1996- 1998