Women to Watch 2021: Colleen Ngo, Xaxis APAC

Colleen Ngo

Vice president of partnerships and investment
Xaxis APAC
Singapore

Colleen Ngo's experience in digital advertising spans the globe. Working across both the US and APAC for the past 15 years, she has accumulated a wide breadth of experience in the publisher, tech partner and agency ecosystem.

Before joining Xaxis APAC, Ngo relocated from Yahoo/Verizon’s US headquarters to Hong Kong and then Singapore, building APAC’s direct response business and productising Yahoo/Verizon’s performance-marketing solutions. In Singapore, Ngo headed the marketing team for Brightcove APAC and oversaw its marketing strategy. She then led the programmatic adoption of SSP technologies across major media publishers in Asia at Rubicon Project.

Now overseeing 15 markets across the region for Xaxis as VP of partnerships and investment, Ngo has been instrumental in leading the ground-breaking initiative to size up and migrate millions of dollars of traditional video I/O executions to integrated video buys that were transacted programmatically. This investment shift enabled Xaxis to be early adopters of programmatic guaranteed deals. The adoption of double-digit percentage growth in programmatic investments across APAC’s top 25 clients is another testament to her passion and commitment.

Today, Ngo sits at the forefront of the next disruptors in the industry—leading Xaxis’ strategies in navigating big opportunities such as driving traditional to programmatic shifts, thriving in a cookieless world, AI innovation, and creative transformation. She is also instrumental in setting up strategic partnerships to futureproof Xaxis’ business with new emerging channels such as digital out-of-home and new entrants like TikTok and Amazon in the region, alongside new DSP and technology players.

In addition to blazing her own trail in the industry, Ngo is equally committed to nurturing and elevating new talent. As part of the Global Xaxis Mentorship Programme, Ngo mentors various mid- and junior-level employees, sharing her wealth of experience and encouraging younger employees. Over the past five years in the programme, she has groomed more than eight mentees across markets, many of whom have since grown into leadership positions. Externally, Ngo is an active mentor with the Vedica Scholar Programme for Women, which offers a combination of classroom learning, hands-on work experience, mentoring and coaching to prepare young aspiring women who want to become future leaders in India and the region.

A brilliant mix of strategy and empathy and someone who goes above and beyond to ensure every partnership is a win-win for all involved, Ngo is a thinker who has a proven eye for identifying the next big opportunity and the tenacity to make it happen.