Translating Business into Modern Marketing
As head of marketing for one of the largest enterprise software companies in the world, Zarina Lam Stanford is responsible for developing and implementing SAP’s marketing strategy across the Asia-Pacific and Japan region.
Her colleagues say her skills are exceptional for translating business needs into modern marketing strategies. Her ability to mediate and connect across cultures is a unique trait that they say make her an absolute rock-star in a continuously globalizing world.
Stanford adopts a customer-centric and insight-driven approach in her go-to-market for SAP in the region, overseeing audience, industry, and portfolio marketing across all customer segments in support of the entire SAP business. The German multinational company makes enterprise software to manage business operations and customer relations. It has regional offices in 130 countries and customers in 190.
Stanford is a recognized change agent who spearheads business and transformational initiatives through imagining the possible. She is an industry thought leader promoting diversity and inclusion in the workplace and leading thought provoking modern marketing initiatives from incubation to mainstream.
A seasoned industry veteran, she has held various sales and marketing executive positions in North America and Asia. Prior to joining SAP, she was vice president of marketing at IBM, where she oversaw strategy, marketing, and communications for Growth Markets and Asia Pacific.
Her colleagues say she leads by example, continuously delivers excellence and knows how to raise the bar. She joined SAP last year and in a short time span has driven impactful change around business results and people impact in the marketing organization.
She is a champion for industry diversity and inclusion initiatives, and serves as Bilateral Committee Chairperson for Asia Pacific-India Cooperation at the global women’s chamber ALL Ladies League. She believes in taking risks, thinking bold and helping others see what is possible with a clear vision. “Think big and envision the possible,” she said.
Stanford is a graduate of the Asian Advanced Leadership Program from the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University. She holds an MBA from Southern Methodist University, and a BA in Journalism from the University of North Texas. She resides in Singapore.
