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Executive in Her 20s

Leading Global Marketing

After Maternity Leave

Chief Marketing Officer

Trinh Vo

Profile

Originally from Vietnam. She has led marketing and branding since the early launch of the international remittance service 'Smiles,' guiding the team. She has played a key role in business expansion and growth strategies across multiple countries, including Japan, North America, and other parts of Asia.

Leveraging exceptional branding skills to take on challenges
at the intersection of fintech and cross-cultural markets.

── Could you tell us about your background, including why you started working in Japan and your previous roles?

I worked in branding and media in Vietnam, but my interest in fintech led me to seek an environment where I could take on cross-cultural marketing challenges, which brought me to Digital Wallet.

At the time, 'Smiles' was in its early launch stage, and I have been involved in brand building and expanding the business across multiple countries since then, leading up to the present.

I worked in branding and media in Vietnam, but my interest in fintech led me to seek an environment where I could take on cross-cultural marketing challenges, which brought me to Digital Wallet.

At the time, 'Smiles' was in its early launch stage, and I have been involved in brand building and expanding the business across multiple countries since then, leading up to the present.

── Could you tell us about your current position and the work you are responsible for?

I currently lead the global marketing team, directing brand strategy for 'Smiles' and overseeing campaigns in various regions. My main mission is to balance initiatives tailored to local markets with a consistent global brand presence. By managing these two priorities together, I aim to effectively drive service growth and increase user engagement.

── What has been the biggest challenge in growing 'Smiles' since its launch?

The biggest challenge was unifying the different user needs across countries into a single, consistent global brand message. This required flexibility, a clear strategy, and continuous communication across countries and teams, which involved a lot of trial and error.

Creating experiences that move hearts across cultural boundaries
I want to deliver them to people around the world.

── Can you tell us about your team’s composition and the nationalities or cultures of the members you work with?
Also, what do you consider important when building relationships within such a diverse environment?

Our team includes members from Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Nepal, the Philippines, Latin America, the United States, and more. Working together in such a multicultural environment requires empathy, active listening, and mutual respect. Everyone has different values, ways of working, and communication styles, but these differences are what make each person unique and are a great strength for the team.

── As a leader, what attitudes and values do you consider important?

I focus on transparent and open communication. I try to share information and the reasoning behind decisions as much as possible, creating an environment where team members feel safe to share their opinions and suggestions.

I also support each member in understanding their role and goals, helping them take initiative. Sometimes I give a push, and other times I face challenges together with them, so they can build skills and confidence.

── Have you faced any difficulties while working in a foreign country?

At first, I often struggled with communication due to cultural differences. However, by making an effort to understand others’ cultures and values, I gradually built trust. Through this process, I also improved my own cross-cultural skills and now feel able to collaborate smoothly across countries and regions.

Building trust in diverse teams and business environments is not always easy. Still, I have realized that respecting others and approaching situations with a mindset of understanding is the most important thing.

── What do you find interesting or challenging about your work?

What I find especially rewarding is creating marketing campaigns that resonate with people from different cultures and backgrounds, while being sensitive to the unique sensibilities and values of each region. I aim for campaigns that make people feel, 'This was made for us,' rather than just relying on surface-level translations or formal localization.

At the same time, it’s important to maintain a consistent global brand and ensure our message and values remain clear, no matter the region. Balancing these two is not easy, but that’s also what makes it a rewarding challenge.

── Can you share a success story that you think was only possible because of a global environment?

One of the initiatives 'Smiles' launched was a project called 'Share Smiles,' aimed at sharing smiles through remittances, which achieved great success in various regions. At the heart of it was a strong desire to connect customers with their loved ones and share happiness. Rather than just a promotion or advertisement, we aimed to create an experience that genuinely warmed hearts and made people want to share the moment with someone.

To make this possible, team members from different cultures and backgrounds collaborated closely, exchanging ideas and carefully refining messages so they would resonate with people in every country and region.

As a result, the campaign exceeded expectations in a short time, and many users shared photos of their smiles and family moments on social media. I believe it was only because our company operates in a global environment that we could turn diversity into a strength and create a project that truly touched people’s hearts.