Why Mandai Split Marketing and Sales into Two Roles

Mandai Wildlife Group has appointed Agatha Yap as its new Chief Marketing Officer, effective this month, as the Singapore wildlife and nature destination prepares for the near-completion of Mandai Wildlife Reserve.

Leadership Restructure Separates Marketing from Sales

Yap succeeds Jean Choi, who moves into a newly defined Chief Sales Officer role overseeing commercial strategy and global partnerships. The structural split creates two distinct senior functions where one combined role previously existed.

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Choi served as Chief Sales and Marketing Officer for over three years. During that time, she directed marketing across five major precinct launches: Bird Paradise, Mandai Wildlife West, Curiosity Cove, Green Canvas, and the Mandai Rainforest Resort. Her tenure also included a music video campaign for K-pop artist JISOO's 'Your Love,' produced in collaboration with the Singapore Tourism Board.

The separation of marketing and sales leadership reflects a common organizational shift among institutions moving from a development phase into a brand-building and revenue-generation phase simultaneously.

Yap Brings Cross-Sector Experience in Singapore's Leisure Market

Yap's career spans agency work, consumer goods, leisure, and aviation. She held senior roles at Euro RSCG, BBDO, and Bates before moving client-side.

From 2014 to 2017, she served as Director of Sales, Marketing, Events and Programming at Sentosa Development Corporation, Singapore's premier leisure island destination. She then joined McDonald's Singapore as Senior Director of Marketing, Menu and Digital Innovations from 2017 to 2020. Most recently, she served as Director of Marketing, Communications and Loyalty at Scoot, the low-cost airline subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, where she strengthened the brand and optimized paid media performance.

Her Sentosa background gives her direct experience in Singapore's destination marketing environment, which closely mirrors the competitive landscape Mandai operates within.

Appointment Timed to Mandai Wildlife Reserve Completion

The timing of Yap's appointment coincides with the near-completion of Mandai Wildlife Reserve, a major infrastructure investment that will require dedicated marketing leadership to drive visitor awareness and acquisition at scale.

Mandai Wildlife Group currently holds a three-year strategic partnership with Singapore Airlines, demonstrating the organization's appetite for high-profile institutional collaborations that extend its reach beyond traditional wildlife destination audiences.

Asia's consumer market is projected to reach US$36 trillion by 2035, intensifying competition for leisure spending across the region. In this environment, APAC marketers are planning budget increases exceeding 50% for online video, e-commerce, and influencer marketing channels. Digital Out-of-Home advertising currently ranks as the top channel for both consumers and marketers across Asia Pacific, with in-person events ranking among the top five for both groups.

These trends align directly with Mandai's model as a physical, experiential destination. Yap's paid media background at Scoot positions her to pursue digital visitor acquisition at the scale the new reserve will require.

Mandai Wildlife Group has not publicly announced specific marketing priorities or campaign timelines connected to Yap's appointment.