Creativity with Impact: How Mira Pham is leading her digital agency in a fast-paced industry
When we ask about the tension between bold creative ideas and client expectations, Founder and CEO of Fortune Media, Kieu Oanh Pham (Mira Pham), laughs. She acknowledges it as the age-old dance between agencies and clients.
The current 2025 NUS EMBA candidate believes this is where her executive learning has made a significant difference. It helped Mira frame client adjustments not as compromises, but as part of a structured process: Creativity, Listening, Adjustment.
Sometimes those adjustments mean an idea changes significantly, though she sees value in that evolution. She explains, “While we are passionate about creativity, we also prioritise the high feasibility of our ideas and their potential to deliver tangible impacts for brands and partners.”
Her team begins every project by putting bold ideas on the table. Once the discussion starts, clients inevitably shape the outcome. Creativity remains at the core, though she also guides her team to prioritise feasibility and tangible impact. With the perspective she has gained through the EMBA, client feedback is no longer seen as eroding originality. It becomes a legitimate and valuable part of shaping the outcome.
The Beginning of Fortune Media
For Mira, creativity has always been the driving force. From her early career at Procter & Gamble through management roles at CPM and MSLGroup, to founding her agency, Fortune Media, in 2017, creativity remained central.
As her company expanded in Vietnam’s rapidly changing digital marketing landscape, she began seeking something more: a way to scale with clarity, broaden her perspective, and lead across borders. That search led her to the NUS Executive MBA.
“The EMBA program at NUS offered me fascinating opportunities to understand clients and various business operations from diverse cultural backgrounds,” she shares. “Collaborating closely with classmates from numerous countries deepened my insight into the needs, preferences, and working styles of clients from those specific regions.”
The programme also took her beyond Singapore, with immersive modules in China, Thailand, Australia, and Japan. For Mira, these first-hand insights into how companies and markets operate across different regions were especially valuable, offering a practical lens to assess where and how her agency could expand in the future.
From Childhood Aspiration to Agency Founder
Mira’s entrepreneurial journey has roots in her childhood. “My decision to establish my own company likely stemmed from a childhood aspiration to become a businesswoman,” she reflects.
After years of corporate experience, she realised her passion for marketing. “Its inherent creativity, constant novelty, and artistic elements deeply resonated with me. These were pivotal factors in my decision to build my creative digital agency after accumulating experience in the industry.”
At the time, Vietnam’s digital market was in transition. “Vietnam’s digital marketing landscape was not nascent. Several pioneering agencies were already established. However, I recognised significant untapped opportunities and unmet needs within the market, coupled with the immense growth potential of the sector,” she explains.
She notes how dramatically Vietnam’s digital marketing landscape has evolved over the past decade. What was once centred mainly on platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram has now expanded into a far more complex ecosystem.
TikTok, Threads, and Zalo have become major channels, while e-commerce and social commerce platforms such as Shopee, Lazada, and TikTok Shop are reshaping how brands connect with consumers. At the same time, the rise of super apps like Grab and Gojek, along with the rapid integration of AI, has accelerated the industry’s growth and transformation.
Like many entrepreneurs, Mira faced different challenges as her company scaled with the rapid change in the digital marketing landscape. “When the company was first established, we only had a few employees. At that time, the primary challenge was likely how to acquire clients and win projects,” she recalls.
As the agency expanded to several dozen staff members, the challenges evolved. She had to find an approach toward building processes and systems for smooth communication, optimising time and costs, reducing errors, and improving quality. Today, the focus has shifted once again, with the most significant challenge being the attraction and retention of top talent.
Managing Challenges of Growth
According to Mira, the EMBA experience has not only provided her with tools for overcoming the challenges of business expansion but also with the confidence to take on new opportunities. It has also deepened her ability to navigate cultural differences. One of the most valuable cross-cultural moments came during the Yale immersion module. “I think it is not about a change, but rather an enhancement of my ability to work effectively in multicultural environments,” she explains.
“At NUS, my peers were, to some extent, predominantly Asian, while at Yale, the majority of my classmates hailed from the Americas and Europe, with some also coming from Africa. The disparity was far greater. Through our academic pursuits and group collaborations, we learned to reconcile these differences by practising more active listening, embracing diversity as a valuable asset, and even engaging in more social activities organised by Yale to foster deeper mutual understanding.”
For EMBA candidates, experiences like this reinforce that expanding into new regions is not merely about market research or strategy. It’s also about understanding people, cultures, and ways of working.
Advice for Creative Leaders
For creative professionals and agency founders considering the NUS EMBA, Mira is candid. She notes that senior leaders and founders often find themselves stuck in a routine. Handling familiar tasks and working with the same people may lead to viewing challenges primarily through the lens of their industry. Over time, this can narrow perspectives, reduce objectivity, and make it easy to overlook fresh ideas or valuable insights.
The EMBA, she believes, provides a remedy. “I believe pursuing an EMBA program at NUS provides a conducive environment for individuals to discover intriguing and valuable opportunities around them – opportunities that only become apparent when one possesses the most objective and comprehensive perspective. Concurrently, it serves to expand one’s network, both professionally and personally, when your strategic focus is on Asia.”
Ready to Take the Next Step like Mira?
From her early days managing regional businesses at P&G to building Fortune Media into a successful creative agency, Mira Pham has always balanced creativity with impact. The NUS Executive MBA is helping her further expand that balance, allowing her to grow with confidence in rapidly changing environments like Asia.
For creative leaders ready to step outside the familiar and lead with a broader perspective, the NUS Executive MBA offers both the platform and the community to make it possible. Find out more about the NUS EMBA here.
