Women to Watch Greater China 2021: Lingzi Yue, Holmes & Marchant

Lingzi Yue

Managing director
Holmes & Marchant
Shanghai 

Lingzi Yue hasn’t looked back since gaining an internship at Brand Union Hong Kong whilst still at university. Offered a job within a month, which she took upon graduating, Yue has grown her career in consumer branding at remarkable speed.

A founding member of Holmes & Chan start-up in Shanghai, in just four years Yue led her team to win MNC clients including PepsiCo, Unilever, Mondelez, Nestle, Danone, General Mills and Wyeth. In that period, she grew the agency by over 30% annually, and in 2018 Yue was promoted to managing director at the age of just 34.

Yue has taken the role of leading a large agency well within her stride. Even during the pandemic—which saw China GDP fall by 6.8% in Q1 and retail sales suffer in Q2—Yue beat the odds and grew her agency by 12% year on year. To cap it all, last November her office recorded its best-ever month in its seven years of operation.

Coupled with her leadership skills, Yue has an equal desire to give back. As a volunteer for various NGOs, and as a champion for sustainability in the industry, Yue is committed to driving change. Keenly aware of the effect that consumer design and packaging can have on the environment, Yue believes that agencies should champion sustainability. To that end, she is committed to training teams and encouraging clients to see sustainability as a competitive advantage rather than a hindrance.

Never one to rest on her laurels, Yue is also in the process of future-proofing her business. Taking the agency into new areas such as retail design and ecommerce, she also created a new mass production division to service the requirements of clients such as Walmart. From leading growth to driving change, one thing is for sure, Yue looks set to continue being an unstoppable force.