Asia-Pacific Power List 2025: Cheryl Goh, Grab

Cheryl Goh

Group VP of marketing and sustainability
Grab
Singapore 
Returning member  

As founding CMO of one of Southeast Asia’s biggest tech success stories, Cheryl Goh has been instrumental in steering Grab from startup scrappiness to super-app status. 11 years ago, she was part of the founding team that helped the brand challenge—and eventually redefine—the region’s taxi landscape. Today, her role spans far more than brand awareness.

Presently, she oversees marketing, loyalty, and sustainability across all Grab’s verticals—ride-hailing, deliveries, financial services, and retail—and leads a centre of excellence supporting subsidiaries, including three banks and a supermarket chain in Malaysia. From makeshift offices to leading a regional team of 500 at Grab’s sprawling Singapore HQ, Goh’s influence now extends across the entire business.

Goh and her team are particularly skilled at utilising Grab’s familiar visual assets while localising them based on Southeast Asia’s diverse cultures and languages. One such example is ‘Sorry, 'Di Mo Na Kami Pwedeng Gawing Excuse’ from the Philippines, a funny set of skits to emphasise Grab’s increased driver availability and success rate in the market. Grab’s partnership with creative agency Gigil in the Philippines have often led to high-impact, award-winning campaigns, including a Silver at the 2024 Cannes Lions and top honours at the YouTube Works Awards for ‘Sorry’ and its Valentine's Day campaigns.

Goh’s sustainability remit in her title is far from symbolic. She’s done plenty to ensure Grab reaches its net-zero goal by 2040, such as spearheading GrabForGood, ramping up the app’s EV fleet, and offering riders the choice to offset their carbon footprint or opt out of single-use cutlery. Her ESG commitment extends beyond the office: She serves as a committee member of the Tengah Island Conservation, a non-profit biodiversity management initiative in Malaysia.

Goh is also a global executive member at the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA), the same organisation that nominated her for a prestigious Global Marketer of the Year in 2019 and 2022. Over the years, she has been invited as a headliner in many regional industry events that centre around tech, startups, and digital marketing. Prior to Grab, Goh spent many years in leadership marketing roles at the likes of MOL Global, Friendster, and Nissan.