Non Executive Advisor — New Zealand Trade & Enterprise
2022 — current
Summary
Company director and marketing leader. Non-executive advisor to the New Zealand Government's international trade initiative (NZTE), executive committee member of the New Zealand Chamber of Commerce, and Company Director of Applied Creativity Limited. Former Managing Director at Publicis Groupe, WPP, and Dentsu; Chief Marketing Officer at Saasu (acquired by ERLY Group); member of the management team at Acclipse technology (acquired by Wolters Kluwer); owner of Caught! Photography (merged with SnapStar). Author of the Marketing Quotient framework and Wiredfire.
Experience
MD Publicis Groupe HK & Global Lead CathayOne — Publicis Groupe
Jan 2025 – Aug 2026
MD VMLY&R Singapore — WPP
Jan 2023 – Dec 2024
MD Asia Pacific Dentsu B2B — Dentsu
Jan 2020 – Dec 2022
Promoted as youngest regional MD. Managed 130 people across AU, HK, India, and SG. Generated . Integrated five agency brands across Research, Strategy, Creative, Media, and Technology.
Head of Strategy Asia Pacific Dentsu B2B — Dentsu
Sept 2018 – Dec 2019
Established consulting business which contributed 20% of revenue within 12 months.
Head of Strategy Australia — Wunderman
Jan 2016 – Aug 2018
First agency role; drove new business and managed global clients across the Asia region.
Chief Marketing Officer — Saasu
2012 – 2014
Managed marketing for an online accounting app. Grew customer base across 30 countries; company later acquired by Erly Software.
Member of management team — Acclipse Technology
2010 – 2012
Responsible for marketing and partnerships across 90 staff in AU, India, NZ, and Singapore. Company acquired by Wolters Kluwer.
Owner — Caught! photography studio
2007 – 2010
Founded photography studio covering weddings and commercial events. Merged with snapstar.co.nz.
Education
Canterbury University
B.Com Finance and Marketing
2007 – 2009
Skills
- Brand strategy
- Marketing management
- B2B marketing
- Marketing frameworks & operating systems
- Trade & export advisory
- Company direction & governance
- Long-form essays on marketing
- Photography
- Agency Management
- Strategy
- Creative Direction
- New Business Development
- Corporate Turnaround
- Marketing Strategy
- Brand Culture
- Business Development
- Media Planning
- Consulting
- Strategic Planning
- Marketing
- B2B Strategy
- Customer-led transformation
- Finance
- Business advisory
- Business Strategy
- Strategic Consulting
- Operations Management
Interests
- Innovation operating systems
- Brand building
- Trade & export growth
- Systems thinking — Cynefin, Pace Layers
- Marketing, memory & culture
- Entrepreneurship
- Photography
- Asia Pacific
- Norway
- New Zealand
Principles
- What got you where you are now won't get you where you want to go next.
- Pursuing 'best imaginable' leads to remarkable. 'Good enough' leads to ordinary.
- You are what you don't automate.
Links
- LinkedIn — Professional profile
- rhystaylor.net — Primary node — current roles and full career history.
- Applied Creativity — Hub for current ventures — Marketing Quotient and Cropduster (stealth).
- Marketing Quotient — An operating system for innovation and building strong brand franchises. Developed 2019, recently revised; used by Dentsu, Mastercard, HSBC, Standard Chartered, NZTE, SAP, HP.
- Wired Fire — Long-form essays on marketing, memory, and culture.
- NZ Trade & Enterprise — The New Zealand Government's international trade initiative — advisor role.
- NZ Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong — The network for business into, out-from, and throughout New Zealand — executive committee.
Selected writing
Marketing Quotient
A model for building strong brand culture and customer franchises.
Press coverage
Publicis Groupe names Hong Hong Managing Director
Marketing Interactive
Rhys Taylor was appointed as the new Managing Director for Publicis Groupe in Hong Kong.
VML announces new Asia Pacific leadership
Campaign Asia
Rhys Taylor is included in the new Asia Pacific leadership lineup announced by VML.
VML appoints Singapore Managing Director
Marketing Interactive
Rhys Taylor was appointed as the Managing Director for VML's Singapore operations.
New leadership as Dentsu forms commercial marketing function
Campaign Asia
Rhys Taylor is identified as part of the new leadership team following Dentsu's commercial marketing restructuring.
Is B2B Marketing in urgent need of reinvention?
Campaign
Rhys Taylor provides professional insights on the necessity of reinventing B2B marketing strategies.
Mediacorp Executive Insights: Is virtual the new reality?
Mediacorp
Rhys Taylor participated in an executive insights panel regarding the shift to virtual business environments.
Campaign Connect 2021: Opening Panel
Campaign
Rhys Taylor served as a speaker for the opening panel at the Campaign Connect 2021 event.
How Millennials and Gen Z are framing Customer Experience
AdAge
Rhys Taylor authored an opinion piece on the influence of younger generations on customer experience expectations.
Dentsu appoints APAC Managing Director B2B
Marketing Interactive
Rhys Taylor was appointed as the APAC Managing Director for Dentsu's B2B division.
Insights Inside podcast Episode 4: A new framework for strategic planning
B2B International
Rhys Taylor discusses new frameworks for strategic planning on this podcast episode.
Mastercard Academy: COVID-19 response framework for Issuers
Mastercard
Rhys Taylor presented a COVID-19 response framework for issuers at the Mastercard Academy.
OnBrand podcast Episode 27: Lessons in agility from Asia
Dentsu
Rhys Taylor shares lessons regarding business agility learned from the Asian market on this podcast.
Three steps for brands to accelerate growth during COVID-19
Dentsu
Rhys Taylor outlines three strategic steps for brands to maintain growth during the pandemic.
Signal vs. Noise: Standing out in a sea of same
InnovFest Unbound
Rhys Taylor spoke on standing out in competitive markets at the InnovFest Unbound conference.
Dentsu agency appoints new B2B Strategy lead for Asia Pacific
Branding in Asia
Rhys Taylor was appointed to a senior B2B strategy role for Dentsu's agency in Asia Pacific.
Saasu’s CMO explains: Why data visibility is everything
Geckoboard
In his role as CMO at Saasu, Rhys Taylor explains the critical importance of data visibility for businesses.
Building more (simplicity) into software
Saasu
Rhys Taylor shares insights on integrating simplicity into software product development.
About Saasu - Chief Marketing Officer
Saasu
Rhys Taylor was appointed as the Chief Marketing Officer for Saasu.
Investor news: Wolters Kluwer acquires Acclipse
Wolters Kluwer
Rhys Taylor was part of the management team at Acclipse when the company was acquired by Wolters Kluwer.
Meet the Acclipse management teams
Acclipse technology
Rhys Taylor is featured as a member of the management team at Acclipse technology.
Publicis Groupe HK nabs VML SG's client lead as MD, global client lead
Marketing-Interactive
Publicis Groupe Hong Kong appointed Rhys Taylor as managing director and global client lead, effective January 20, 2025, to lead the Cathay account.
Rhys Taylor Joins VMLY&R as Managing Director Singapore
Little Black Book
VMLY&R appointed Rhys Taylor as its new managing director for Singapore to oversee sales and account management.