40 Under 40 2024: Alexander Nikpour, Publicis Groupe

Alexander Nikpour

General manager, Publicis Première
Publicis Groupe
Singapore 

Growing up in Britain in the 90s, Alexander Nikpour didn’t have many gay role models as TV would often depict gay people as one of either two options: those with an early grave or sassy hairdressers.

Fast forward to the present, Nikpour is the founder and chapter president of Égalité, a major resource group for LGBTQ+ people within Publicis Groupe. Particularly in Southeast Asia and North Asia where stigma and discriminatory policies affect employees, the group aims to be a platform for visibility and advocacy. Through the group, Nikpour has already galvanised 80 members and initiated seven tentpole events over the past year; chaired panels with high-profile marketers from the likes of Google and P&G; and initiated positive change such as marriage and childcare benefits being extended to LBGTQ+ staff.

Let’s not forget Nikpour’s core day job, however, as general manager of Publicis Première. Initially, Première was formed to service a single client: SK-II. But the muscle memory required to work with just one client affected staff morale and the team’s cultural identity, so Nikpour took it upon himself to craft a new proposition for the arm. Within three months, he rebooted Première’s core by proposing a new visual identity with strengths in experiential, packaging, and luxury design, which boosted a significant increase in client evaluation scores. In nine months and a solid go-to-market strategy at hand, Première’s client roster snagged up to seven new brands such as Johnnie Walker, Heinemann Duty Free, Bowmore, and Macallan.

During the team’s low-morale period, Nikpour also took it as an opportunity for a process overhaul by introducing a democratic system where open discussions and the collapsing of silos between departments took place. Additionally, he made a case for salary benchmarking, promoted critical talent, ensured every team member had a clear growth plan and KPIs, and incentivised entrepreneurialism using a ‘bravery metric’.

This revamped talent and managerial system—branded internally as ‘Radical Open Collaboration’ or ROC—aided in Première’s impressive voluntary attrition of 0% between January and June 2024, compared to nearly 8% the previous year. Wouldn’t that 90s kid be chuffed if he could have known about his string of positive transformations all these decades later.