Women to Watch 2021: Nikki Ding, Matterkind

Nikki Ding

General manager
Matterkind China
China

An engineer by trade, Nikki Ding has worked her way up the ranks of the IT industry across Dell, LinkedIn, LiveRamp and now Matterkind—subverting gender stereotypes along the way.

At LiveRamp she was responsible for setting up the data and machine-learning platform for IPG China, where she helped to uncover new ways to use first- party data. Soon after she joined IPG’s Kinesso & Matterkind as the martech general manager, where she has driven significant innovations for the business. Ding has championed the integration of Kinesso’s data, tech and consulting capabilities with Matterkind’s addressable media activation, introduced a private traffic-automation solution and has worked on multiple joint solutions with Acxiom to help brands in China navigate walled-garden ecosystems. Jonathan Beh, the CEO of Kinesso China, said Ding has “played a crucial role in cementing together our advanced adtech with martech solution” and integrating first-, second- and third-party data activation. All these have resulted in major billings growth from clients such as A2, Accenture and Converse. Her work has also won several awards including a bronze for Precision Marketing of the Year 2021 at the China Advertising Marketing Awards.

Beyond her business contributions, Ding is passionate about developing her team and nurturing other talent across the IPG network. She has encouraged her team to gain certifications and has put together workshops to educate teammates, clients and the industry on emerging areas like AI and machine learning. She is a thought leader and regularly speaks at conferences and contributes to industry publications.

As a female engineer who has grappled with biases and pay gaps, Ding is actively working to bring a gender balance to tech by encouraging young female graduates to consider a career in the ad and martech industry. As a mother to an 8-year-old, she has fostered a culture of work-life balance.