Suguna Natalie Madhavan
Founder/Director, Firesong Initiatives
Portfolio Mentor Golden Equator Group
Former founding management team member/CMO & Asia Pacific President, Steinway Lyngdorf A/S
Former global founding management team member & Asia Pacific VP, Vertu
Former Regional Director, Asia Pacific – Nokia Mobile Phones & Head of Regional Corporate Communications – Nokia Asia Pacific
Corporate Leadership and Advisory Experience
Suguna’s stellar career experience spans diverse industries including global brand & communications consulting, sales, new venture and global business development in highly innovative technology and premium-luxe consumer segments.
As a global founding team member of Vertu, she headed brand development up to funding, was part of the global sales strategy steering team and spearheaded the entire Asia-Pacific business operation from inception.
She shifted gears in late 2003 to take a sabbatical, before become a founding global management team member and Board Advisor to Steinway Lyngdorf A/S, and also dual-hatted as global CMO and Asia Pacific President until end 2011.
An earlier significant career as Regional Director of Communications, and member of the Asia Pacific management team for Nokia Asia Pacific 1996-2000, saw her managing the full spectrum of marketing communications, investor relations and leading country teams across 14 Asia Pacific markets, contributing to catapulting Nokia into the world’s leading mobile phones company in brand equity and market share during its growth trajectory years.
Her other notable past engagements include being a Strategy Advisor, Asia Pacific to DesignStudioNuovo (DSN), a design & concept incubator based in Los Angeles, and Asian Ambassador and Advisor to the CEO, Faberge Services Ltd in 2009-2010.
Suguna has travelled and worked internationally, managed teams in over 20 cities across 3 regions, and lived in Glasgow, Helsinki and Chicago.