Vanessa Chin on the Value of Resilience and Perspective

Vanessa Chin is the SVP of Marketing at System1, a creative effectiveness platform that predicts and improves the commercial impact of ads and ideas. Vanessa leads US marketing efforts to enhance visibility and expand business opportunities.

Previously, she was marketing director at ALDI, supporting its transformation into the fastest-growing US grocery chain. Vanessa has also worked at Leo Burnett, MARC USA, and BBDO, with expertise in advertising, brand development, and global marketing operations.

She sat down with LBB to discuss the creatives that inspired her throughout her career, and her advice for those hoping to join the industry.

LBB> How did you get into the industry?

Vanessa> While I was in the Business School at Indiana University, I cycled through a range of career ideas, from accounting to computer information systems. I also had internships with McDonald's operations team and in outside sales for a software company. But it wasn't until I was offered an internship at an ad agency in New York City through a family connection that my whole mindset shifted. I could have a career in TV and commercials? Wild. I fell in love with my hot New York City summer and never looked back.

LBB> Who are some of the people along the way who have helped you most?

Vanessa> My first boss taught me the discipline of account management. Conference reports, briefs, and providing creative feedback, he'd have me go back again and again until they were right.

One of my most memorable bosses taught me how to silence the noise and not get caught up in the drama. But most meaningfully, it's been the teammates and friends who have carried me from company to company and role to role. The advertising community is fairly tight-knit, and we show up for each other even if years have passed since we last spoke. I still have a pinned text chain called ’Leo Gals.’

LBB> Who have you looked up to throughout your career?

Vanessa> While I've certainly had plenty of mentors, if I'm honest, it's every art director and copywriter I've ever worked with. The artistry in our industry is awe-inspiring and continues to surprise me daily. Their ability to take a blank page and turn it into something memorable, meaningful, and impactful is a talent I'll never stop admiring.

LBB> Who do you look up to now?

Vanessa> I look up to Jon Evans. Great bosses never really leave you, they live on in your confidence, in the way you treat others, and in the lessons you carry forward.

Jon was the biggest believer in the people around him. He had an incredible ability to make you feel like you were capable of more than you thought possible, while also bringing clarity, honesty, and a healthy dose of laughter to even the toughest moments.

He always made time when it mattered, knew when to challenge you, and knew when to support you. More than anything, he showed me that great leadership is about championing people and helping them believe they're next.

LBB> If you could give your younger self one piece of advice on navigating the industry, what would it be?

Vanessa> The road is so long. Take a breadth and focus on what is in front of you. I was always chasing the idea that I could get it all done. That I could check all the boxes. That I could if I just send this one more email or log-on one more time that would equal achievement. I wish that I had enjoyed the journey literally and figuratively a touch more (I mean I travelled all the way to South Africa for godsakes)

LBB> Tell us about a piece of work that best reflects your ambitions.

Vanessa> One piece of work that reflects my ambitions is Always’ ‘Like a Girl’ campaign. As a marketing professional, I admire how it uses a brand platform to challenge stereotypes and empower young girls. As a woman and mother to a five-year-old daughter, it resonates even more deeply.

More recently, Dove’s Super Bowl campaign, ‘The Game Is Ours,’ reinforced this idea by celebrating girls' confidence in sports and highlighting the importance of helping them stay in the game.

Together, these campaigns represent the kind of work I aspire to champion: marketing that not only drives business results but also helps build a more confident future for the next generation.

LBB> How has a woman best helped you in your career, and/or you helped other women

Vanessa> One of the most important ways I've tried to help other women in their careers is by encouraging them to share their expertise and build confidence in their point of view. Too often, talented women wait until they feel they're ’ready’ or have all the answers before raising their hand. In my current role, I encourage my team and colleagues to anchor themselves in what they know, develop a clear perspective, and make time to contribute to industry conversations.

Thought leadership isn't about being the loudest voice in the room – it's about consistently sharing valuable insights. That's why I encourage people to protect time for thinking, writing, and speaking, and to view building their professional voice as part of the job, not an extra.

When women are empowered to speak with conviction about their expertise, it not only advances their own careers but helps create more visible role models for others coming up behind them.

LBB>Where do you hope we are as an industry in a year’s time?

Vanessa> One of the biggest things marketers still underestimate is the power of consistency. Brands often chase novelty, changing platforms, styles, and messaging before consumers have fully absorbed what makes them distinctive.

At System1, we consistently see that recognisable assets such as characters, visual identities, colours, and sonic cues build stronger memory structures, making advertising more effective and efficient. In a year’s time, we hope more brands resist the urge to constantly reinvent themselves and instead invest in the consistent brand building that drives long-term growth.

LBB> And five years’ time?

Vanessa> Over the next five years, we hope the industry moves from recognising the value of consistency to fully embedding it into how brands operate. In the near term, that means executing with greater discipline around distinctive assets and long-term brand building.

The payoff, three to five years later, will be stronger brand recognition, deeper emotional connections, and more efficient marketing performance as brands benefit from years of accumulated memory rather than continually starting over.

LBB> What’s your non-negotiable?

Vanessa> My non-negotiable is perspective. I’ve learned that resilience isn’t about pretending setbacks don’t affect you, it’s about allowing yourself to feel them without letting them define you.

Earlier in my career, I tried to power through every challenge. Now, when something goes wrong, I give myself space to process it and then ask a simple question: Will this matter in a week, a month, or a year? Most of the time, the answer is no.

My other non-negotiable is remembering that work is part of my life, not my entire identity. Having two young children has given me a much healthier sense of proportion. No matter what happened during the workday, they remind me what truly matters. That perspective helps me stay grounded, move forward with clarity, and focus my energy on what I can control rather than what I can't.

LBB> Nominate the next woman you think should be part of this series.

Vanessa> Jenny Penich, chief revenue officer, Influencer – She’s built an exceptional career at the intersection of growth, creator marketing, and leadership, while also being recognised as a She Runs It Working Mother of the Year.

I admire her ability to drive business results while leading with empathy, making her a fantastic role model for women across the industry.