Women to Watch 2022: Serene Wong, Across the Pond

Serene Wong 

Managing director, APAC
Across the Pond
Singapore

Serene Wong joined creative agency Across The Pond in 2017 as its first employee. Her background as a creative TV producer meant she had the knack for crafting, making and telling stories that engage, entertain and educate, which were highly sought-after by Across The Pond where a major part of the business involves applying a human touch to tech stories.

In just five years, Wong has built an expert multi-regional and multi-disciplinary team of creatives, strategists and project managers across APAC. Today, she leads and mentors a team of seven full-time employees, alongside a roster of stellar freelance talent.

In addition to building her team, Wong has also expanded the agency's client base in key growth sectors from a single key regional partner to a wide network of satisfied clients across Southeast Asia, Greater China, Korea and Japan in varying industries and verticals that are all in line with the agency's goals and growth plans.

Under Wong's leadership, the agency has to-date achieved 40% growth in revenue. Though the pandemic took its toll with a drop from US$2.5m in 2019 to US$1.1m in 2020, revenue has steadily bounced back to US$1.5m in 2021 with expectations to surpass this in the coming year. With this track record, Wong was promoted to the position of managing director for APAC in 2021, expanding her responsibilities to the ownership and management of the business’ P&L.

Through periods of uncertainty, Wong's leadership has remained consistently strong. In 2020, during the pandemic, when clients’ marketing budgets were slashed and against a challenging economic background, Wong continued to lead the business with tenacity and perseverance, relentlessly engaging in conversations with existing and new clients alike to build and maintain relationships with the long road in mind.

That same year, the business pivoted from a production-led agency to a creative and strategy-led one. This involved some major changes, such as communicating an external rebrand to clients and an internal restructure.  While the word ‘restructuring’ often involves downsizing staff, it was certainly not the case for the now-creative agency Across The Pond. Wong spoke to each member of the team at length about their strengths and weaknesses, taking time to clarify their doubts, and eventually refining each person’s role to fit into what the agency's future plans and goals are.

Wong is also a dedicated champion of women talent in the industry. Most recently, she spearheaded a content series to shine a light on the work of women in tech, sharing their stories to help inspire others.