Valerie Kew
Summary
A Customer-focused professional with a fulfilling career spanning over 16 years in Travel/Hospitality Services and Technology, mainly within Business Development, Account Management and Customer Success functions. Being a motivated self-starter and agile learner who embrace challenges and focus on successful outcomes.
Overview
18
18
years of professional experience
Work History
Customer Success Manager (APAC)
Omnipresent
Singapore
01.2022 - 02.2023
- Owned and managed close to 40 client accounts throughout entire customer lifecycle, be customers’ voice and their main point of contact.
- Develop strong relationship with assigned clients through regular and meaningful engagements to achieve smooth delivery of service, high customer satisfaction and long-term success.
- Monitored customers; health progress and conducted periodic user training sessions to support customer understanding and product feature utilization.
- Collaborated with sales and product teams to address customer success objectives.
- Played instrumental role in client satisfaction by working with operational teams for proper resolution of service issues.
Enterprise Sales Director (APAC)
Knowland
Singapore
04.2020 - 03.2021
- Being the first hire in Asia Pacific to manage over 30 assigned accounts in region, responsible for full sales cycle to maximize revenue through new sales acquisitions and renewals.
- Owned all Customer Success metrics, led regular client meetings for training/onboarding and business review to foster open communication, high customer engagement, usage and retention to ensure ongoing success.
- Acted as trusted advisor and subject matter expert for clients on Knowland’s products, providing insightful data and recommendations in helping them to achieve their sales objectives.
Senior Manager
Kayak
Singapore
01.2019 - 02.2020
- Working within Kayak accommodations team (after Kayak’s acquisition of HotelsCombined) to drive productive relationship with key hotel partners in Asia Pacific & Europe, through developing responsive solutions to enhance clients’ sales distribution strategy.
- Managed integration of partners’ channel connectivity into Kayak’s sales distribution network with aim to grow sales performance by providing relevant data insights and consulting.
Head of Client Relations
HotelsCombined
Singapore
10.2014 - 12.2018
- Build and mentored a team of 6 culturally diverse and remotely based market managers in Asia, ensuring team members are highly motivated in meeting their growth targets.
- Regularly conducted market analysis to monitor key trends, benchmarking among competitive set and prepare regular reports to management for forecasting and strategies.
- Being a pioneer team member of partner acquisition team in Asia in a start-up environment, single-handedly penetrated new markets and forged partnership with over 200 hotels in the region within 1 year.
- Integrated into Kayak's team after their acquisition of HotelsCombined in 2019.
Regional Contracting Manager
HotelBeds
Thailand (Bangkok)
04.2014 - 10.2014
- Managed and coached a team of 6 local contracting managers, ensuring they are highly motivated to engage with hotel partners to achieve targets.
- Maintained primary relationship accountability for clients, overall servicing responsibility and client satisfaction to maximize profitability of client relationships.
Director of Marketing Communications
Infinity Hotels & Resorts
Thailand (Bangkok)
01.2013 - 09.2013
- Accountable for all PR and Marketing activities to drive higher brand awareness and engagement.
- Oversaw preparation of marketing copy, images, and other collateral.
- Led the Ecommerce team to ensure online distribution channels are optimized and revenue are maximized to achieve overall sales targets.
Regional Director
Getaway Lounge Australia
Thailand (Bangkok)
02.2012 - 01.2013
- Managed business development activities in South East Asia, secured best deals with travel partners to achieve high revenue on sales channels.
- Represented company at various regional industry events.
- Implemented business strategies, increasing revenue and effectively targeting new markets.
Regional Sales Director
WEGO
Thailand (Bangkok)
07.2011 - 02.2012
- Responsible for sales management activities for hotel clients in Asia, from prospecting to support, ensuring client engagement and satisfaction.
- Achieved sales goals and service targets by cultivating and securing new customer relationships.
Senior Market Manager
Orbitz Worldwide (Now part of Expedia)
Singapore and Thailand (Relocated)
10.2007 - 06.2011
- Forged strong partnership with global and independent accommodation brands to expand HotelClub and Orbitz brand presence in assigned region.
- Networked in market to build partnerships and connections with prospects.
- Achieved monthly sales targets consistently by pursuing new business.
- Relocated to Bangkok to lead the local team and expanded the team from 3 to 7 members.
Market Manager
Wotif (Now part of Expedia)
Singapore
11.2004 - 10.2007
- Being part of the pioneer team in Singapore, proactively attained partnership to expand hotel inventory portfolio in South East Asia
- Work closely with key hotel partners to ensure maximum sales opportunities through various sales campaigns.
- Coached team members in effective selling strategies and closing techniques.
Education
Post Diploma Certificate - Digital Marketing
Republic Polytechnic
Singapore09.2021
BBA - Business Administration
James Cook University
Singapore08.2004
Diploma - Business Management
Nanyang Polytechnic
Singapore12.1998
Skills
- MS Office tools, Tableau, Salesforce CRM
- Agile Principles ( ICAGILE Certified Professional)
- Client Rapport-Building
- Business Development
- Consultative Selling Techniques
- Customer Relations
- Account Management
Languages
Chinese (Mandarin)
Bilingual or Proficient (C2)
English
Bilingual or Proficient (C2)
Thai
Intermediate (B1)
Timeline
Customer Success Manager (APAC)
Omnipresent
01.2022 - 02.2023
Enterprise Sales Director (APAC)
Knowland
04.2020 - 03.2021
Senior Manager
Kayak
01.2019 - 02.2020
Head of Client Relations
HotelsCombined
10.2014 - 12.2018
Regional Contracting Manager
HotelBeds
04.2014 - 10.2014
Director of Marketing Communications
Infinity Hotels & Resorts
01.2013 - 09.2013
Regional Director
Getaway Lounge Australia
02.2012 - 01.2013
Regional Sales Director
WEGO
07.2011 - 02.2012
Senior Market Manager
Orbitz Worldwide (Now part of Expedia)
10.2007 - 06.2011
Market Manager
Wotif (Now part of Expedia)
11.2004 - 10.2007
Post Diploma Certificate - Digital Marketing
Republic Polytechnic
BBA - Business Administration
James Cook University
Diploma - Business Management
Nanyang Polytechnic