I created The Third Culture in 2022 after over twenty years in the agency worlds of advertising and media. Most of my years were happy but as I became more senior I felt increasingly frustrated at the lack of importance attached to team or organisational culture. I also wasn’t totally sure that inclusion efforts were really acknowledging the perspectives of the people that they claimed to represent, particularly across East and South East Asia where I was based and where I am from.
In short, there was not enough conversation on the ‘difficult stuff’ leading to not much real action or change.
I see being multi-racial as a great privilege. It means that I naturally expect there to be different, and sometimes opposing perspectives. Complexity is part of who I am, so when it comes to the work I am all about going deep into the detail and the messiness and being ‘comfortable with the uncomfortable’. I believe you can’t have a conversation unless you’ve really looked hard at that detail and that messiness.
My 25-year career has seen me work around the world with and for some of the biggest and most influential organisations – from the corporate sector to retail and sport. I have won several awards such as Top 25 Young People To Look Out For (Philippine National Enquirer 2005), Campaign Asia’s Woman to Watch (2018), and Winner of Respect Individuality (groupM, 2019). Proudly, in 2024, The Third Culture was shortlisted for DEI Innovation at the UnderOne Diversity and Inclusion Awards.
I continue to work with various organisations delivering training and consultancy, and have also previously sat on the Diversity in Racing Advisory Group for the British Horseracing Authority.
With my company The Third Culture I now help organisations to face their ‘inclusion realities’ fearlessly through auditing, educational programmes and holding spaces for professionals in this area to come together to work through the difficult stuff. We work with all sectors but have specialist experience in sport, media and retail & hospitality. In just a few years The Third Culture has gone from strength to strength, offering a unique perspective on inclusion challenges. You can view all our testimonials here.
If you are ready to ask tough questions of yourself, allow me to help you navigate this space.
