Florence Turcq, Managing Director Japan & APAC at Brave Bison, is an astounding business leader and a huge inspiration for many aspirants. With her passion for creativity, marketing, & innovation, Florence helps bring brands to life. Her extraordinary creative production skills combined with her unique business acumen have given her opportunities to work with some of the biggest agencies in the world such as TBWA, Publicis Groupe, Mullen Lowe, and Droga5.

The versatile leader is also a keynote speaker in the Women Keynote Speaker Directory of Singapore advocating to bring diversity to the stage. Florence speaks with courage and vulnerability about the importance of Work-Life Balance and the danger of burning out, sharing her own experience, paving the way for others by unleashing this taboo conversation. A strong believer in equal rights, diversity & inclusion, she managed to bring the Google initiative IamRemarkable workshop to Brave Bison during this year’s International Women's month.

This was initiated to help empower women and other underrepresented groups celebrating their achievements in the workplace and beyond. As a leader, Florence works from the ground up, running alongside the team and staying very hands-on. She demonstrates leadership as a practiced skill and not a position, and shows that to thrive, one must be kind, professional, & goal-oriented. Florence once said in an exclusive interview with the Women Entrepreneur’s editorial team that “the key to success is to make your soft skills your best ally”, as she talked about her journey and how she paved her way to success. Let’s hear it from her.

Take us through your illustrious educational & professional journey so far.

Considering my passion for various creative arts, I undertook a bachelor's degree in Communication, Marketing, and PR at EFAP in Brussels, alongside evening classes in video and photography. After graduation, I moved to Milan where I received a scholarship at the SAE Institute to undertake another degree in Digital Film Making.

After this, I moved to the US to gain experience in Feature Films & Documentary Production. During those days, I got the opportunity to work with my first woman role model, Edet Belzberg, in New York City. Thanks to her, I got the opportunity to interview Stéphane Hessel in Paris for her movie Watchers of the sky. This exceptional meeting remains a once-in-a-lifetime event for me. After New York, I moved to Milwaukee to work with the brilliant Chip Duncan at Duncan Entertainment and then had the immense pleasure to work with Jerry Zucker and Janet Zucker at Zucker Productions in Los Angeles as an intern producer, junior editor and event assistant. It was all these great experiences that brought me to understand the production

business and the marketing & PR around it.

“We need to have the courage to lead as who we are, finding our own unique style. It's the only way to complement what’s been put in place so far & truly help build a world where diversity & inclusion are fully respected & applied as normality”

Tell us about the company & the various roles & responsibilities you hold as Managing Director – Japan & APAC at Brave Bison.

Brave Bison is a unique media, marketing, and Technology Company built for the new era we are living in. We connect digital experiences, creators, and conversions, underpinned by our own social-first media network. We are experts in building communities, working closely with all kinds of influencers, and making audiences tick on each social media platform. Our headquarters in London oversees Europe & the US while our APAC Headquarters office in Singapore focuses on the JAPAC region and we are all collaborating constantly with our hubs around the globe, making full use of the time zone differences. My responsibility at Brave Bison lies in the day-to-day agency operations of a diverse and high-performing team; in growing its Business, Strategic Partnerships, and Influencers' Content Marketing revenue in the Japan & APAC region.

What are the key leadership mantras that have helped you carve a successful professional journey?

Since I was a child my mom always told me, “If you want it, you can do it” & that mantra has followed me in all my moments of doubt and challenges, helping me build resilience and courage. Another very powerful mantra for me is 'lead by example'. We can all agree that it is crucial as leaders to set an ethical standard and become an example for your team & your company.

What is your take on the disproportionate representation of women leaders in top leadership roles? What advice would you like to give to aspiring women entrepreneurs?

The road towards gender equality is still long and each of us has a role to play in it. As a woman growing my career in a male-dominated industry, I first felt like I needed to act like a man to succeed. I’ve learned to understand that, to make it happen, we need to have the courage to lead as who we are, finding our own unique style. It’s the only way to complement what’s been put in place so far and truly help build a world where diversity and inclusion are fully respected & applied as normality. So, always stay truthful to yourselves & your values and make your way with your own personal and unique style.

Florence Turcq,  Managing Director,  Japan & Apac,  Brave Bison

Leader with a great passion for building  brands innovatively. Florence speaks five  major languages. After gaining almost  15 years of experience in the advertising industry, she joined Brave Bison and after  just a few years became the business leader for the entire Japan & APAC region.