Thursday, June 09, 2011

FIR Interview: Georgette Tan

imageProject Inspire is a joint initiative by UN Women Singapore and MasterCard to help participants create a better world of opportunities for women and children in Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa. Under the program, participants submit a video pitch with their idea to help empower disadvantaged women and girls, through education, skills training, financial inclusion, social entrepreneurship. Participants are eligible to win a US$25,000 grant to bring their vision to life. Special recognition will be given to the Best Financial Literacy/ Livelihood proposal which will win a start-up grant of US$10,000. Finalists will get the chance to come to Singapore to present their idea to an expert judging panel and attend a workshop on sustainable social entrepreneurship and presentation skills training.

FIR Asia correspondent Michael Netzley spoke with MasterCard communicator Georgette Tan about MasterCard’s Project Inspire and issues related to communicating in Asia.

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About our Conversation Partner

imageGeorgette Tan Singapore-based Georgette Tan is the Vice President of Communications, Asia/Pacific, Middle East & Africa, MasterCard Worldwide. She joined MasterCard in 2000 and is responsible for internal and external communications throughout the Asia/Pacific, Middle East & Africa region.

In this role, Ms. Tan has further established MasterCard as a knowledge leader, repositioning the MasterCard Worldwide Index of Consumer Confidence and the MasterCard Insights series of ongoing research and analysis of business dynamics, financial policies and regulatory activities in the Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa region. She also spearheaded the creation of the MasterCard Worldwide Surveys on Consumer Purchasing Priorities, Ethical Spending and Online Shopping, the MasterCard Worldwide Index of Consumer Purchasing Resilience. These have captured media attention and lifted the profile of MasterCard in the region. In the women’s arena, Tan devoted her time to launch the MasterCard Worldwide Index of Women’s Advancement in 2005, as well as other initiatives and scholarships that provide assistance to women and recognize women’s contributions in the workplace.

Tan also spearheaded the launch of MasterCard’s transactional philanthropy platform MasterCard Purchase with Purpose™ in the region. She has led various corporate social responsibility initiatives for MasterCard in the region, ranging from supporting programs in Cambodia, Nepal and the Philippines that teach women skills to make a livelihood, to initiatives in Taiwan, Thailand and the UAE that raise funds to provide needy children a more suitable environment to live in and study.

Previously, Tan spent seven years as the Director of Communications at CNBC Asia, and served as the manager of international publicity services at the Hong Kong Trade Development Council in Hong Kong. Prior to that, she headed up public relations at the Singapore Tourist Promotion Board in Singapore.

Connect with Georgette on LinkedIn.

You can access Project Inspire through Facebook Causes and view a YouTube video about the effort.

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This FIR Interview is brought to you with Lawrence Ragan Communications, serving communicators worldwide for 35 years. Information: www.ragan.com.

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Posted by shel on 06/09 at 10:45 AM
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