Ucheora Obi-Wheeler
Senior manager, brand strategy
HSBC
As senior manager for brand strategy at HSBC, Ucheora Obi-Wheeler is playing an important role in setting the brand’s positioning for the future.
She joined in 2018 as a global customer strategy and insight manager. She was then promoted to a senior customer design manager before moving to the customer growth and advocacy team as a senior manager, and then to her current role.
Before joining HSBC, Obi-Wheeler worked in customer insight and experience roles at organisations including Ipsos Mori and Macmillan Education.
She admits that, initially, a career in marketing wasn’t her intention.
“I didn’t set out to become a marketer but have found myself as one nonetheless,” she says. “Throughout, the single biggest driver for me has been to connect brands to the humans who consume what they have to offer.”
To this end, working with functions outside of marketing is crucial, she says, and helps marketers drive commercial success. In order to do this, she advises those wanting to go into marketing to develop a diverse skillset, with communication being a crucial skill.
Given her career so far, she is passionate about the impact that data and analytics can have on enabling consumer centricity.
Outside of work, Obi-Wheeler is passionate about rugby, and in 2022 was elected chair of Rugby United, an RFU initiative to broaden participation in the sport. She is also a member of Fly Girl Collective, a health and wellness group for Black women.
Her advocacy for equity and inclusion extends to work. Obi-Wheeler believes one of the biggest opportunities for marketers lies in reaching historically underserved communities.
“This is not just about changing things to be more representative for a certain group of consumers, but about having the best chance of being able to speak to all of your target consumers,” she says.
Consumers increasingly expect brands to positively contribute to society, she notes, something which can be a challenge for profit-driven organisations and can result in short-sighted action. She emphasises the importance of authenticity from brands in this environment.
Short-term thinking can also be brought about by expectations from board members and executives, she notes. Therefore, bringing along these leaders with you as a marketer is essential, she says.
"Throughout, the single biggest driver for me has been to connect brands to the humans who consume what they have to offer."
