Catherine Hamilton

Trestle Solutions Inc.

I build trestles that get Marketing programs from “here” (strong regional player) to “there” (ready to compete on the national stage).

Using a framework that makes Marketing transformation PREDICTABLE and FASTER, I will create a change vision + structure + execute with you or on a project basis, for you.

You’re a CMO or VP Marketing in a $20-$500 million company that’s unifying after long-term growth, starting EOS, or consolidating post-merger or acquisition who realizes that fractional, expert support will accelerate change - it can't be done off the "side of your desk."

Or a CEO who’s activating change and needs an interim Marketing leader to light the fire during an extended search for the right permanent resource. (I’ll onboard them too!)

Transformation is chaotic (IYKYK 😉).

And having the path, the plan, and a Marketing transformation expert at your side accelerates change and gets you to results faster. Companies with trestles:

🚀 Smashed an all-time monthly leads record within 10 months.

🚀 Untangled a 25-brand portfolio into a powerful unified brand that changes lives. (And saved $120K in annual regional media costs.)

🚀 Built a digital customer journey that became the template for all countries in the global model and teed up 25% more leads (and counting) from existing buyers.

🚀 Optimized their sales enablement touchpoints and tools, bringing Marketing and Sales together for the first time, and pivoting to a “shared responsibility for leads” mindset.

🚀 Uplevelled people, processes, and vendor partners, creating a Marketing infrastructure that can scale with growth. (And they posted 20% YOY last fiscal.)

Fractional CMO and Marketing Transformation Consultant I Founder & CEO

WSAudiology

During an extended search for a permanent Marketing leader, the CEO brought me in to oversee their large-scale rebrand project execution (US + global stakeholders, consolidate 36 brands to 1) and realign the team. Spearheaded evolution of the legacy Marketing program into the lead engine they needed to fuel significant growth plans. I also onboarded the new Marketing executive and ensured a smooth hand-off to that permanent role.

Interim CMO

me&ideas inc.

Working corporate from the agency side:

Account leadership for a $300 million US-based client with global stakeholders. Transformed the mix of traditional and digital Marketing programs + a focus on evolving brand and culture. Multiple new location launches with compressed leadgen targets.

Execution of a global brand for a business unit in Austria.

Account Director, North America

Connect Hearing

It's a challenging mission: sell a solution people don’t want to buy, at a price they don’t want to pay, for a problem they don't want to have. 

I was responsible for Marketing transformation, strategy, lead generation programs & conversion to qualified scheduled appointments. Brand strategy, traditional + digital media, client journey, acquisition & greenfield (new build) centres growth plans, call centre inbound & outbound lead generation. Optimized leadgen streams with North America and global stakeholders.

*Senior executive team: $80 million company, 400 staff, 130 retail locations
*Multi-year 10+% upside in lead generation
*Re-engineered a 9-person call centre, increasing productivity by 30% while positively impacting team KPIs and client satisfaction

Vice President of Marketing

I joined shortly after Connect Hearing was acquired by Sonova. Immediately executed a national rebrand (consolidating 23 brands into 1) along with a culture plan that unified disparate teams across the country. Transitioned from Operations “order-takers” to a professional Marketing team with an integrated IMC plan to effectively drive lead generation.

*Created a segmentation & customer lifecycle program that grew CLV 3x over CAC
*Development of the first national public relations program and content strategy
*Negotiated two national partnerships that extended reach beyond paid media into member-based communities

Director of Marketing

Suburbia Studios

Suburbia was a nationally recognized agency that created innovative, effective, and award-winning retail campaigns and brands. "Measure twice, cut once" is a phrase I've repeated often from my tenure there.

Key clients included Coastal Community Credit Union, Mic Mac Mall (Halifax) and Woodgrove Centre. Account management, brand development and re-positioning, campaign planning and execution, budget control and results measurement. This was a contract position.

Retail Accounts 

Dollar Financial Group

Retail financial at the $500+ million revenue level with more than 900 outlets across North America. Exceeded annual lead growth targets (always upward trending). Achieved 20% YOY growth.

This dynamic role involved strategic planning and execution of Marketing plans, ROI measurement, budget control, national advertising and sales promotions, qualitative & quantitative research, customer retention and loyalty programs and national merchandising within a complex regulatory environment. Multiple acquisitions. Also started with a franchise group; unravelled that to an owned model.

Senior Marketing Manager, North America

Focused on tourism, environment, hospitality and non-profit sectors. Accounts included Tourism Victoria, Ministries of Environment and Health, The Royal BC Museum, University of Victoria, Accent Inns, Quality Inns, United Way, Credit Union National Association (US). 

Client liaison and leadership, planning, estimating, budget control and project management. Pitching new business with senior management. Development of successful Marketing, brand, and rebrand campaigns. Use of Account Planning principles for qualitative research.

Account Manager

Helping Marketing leaders keep ALL the balls in the air during Growth l MarComm Leader I Brand Implementor I Builder of Content Frameworks I Rider of Road+Mountain+Gravel Bikes

I help VPs of Marketing in midmarket companies scale up. That’s my core work.

Because let’s be real—scaling marketing isn’t just “more marketing.” It’s an evolution. Bigger markets, bigger teams, bigger expectations. And it all needs to happen while still delivering today’s results.

No one prepares you for this part. Not your MBA. Not your last role. Definitely not the playbook that worked when the company was smaller. Yet here you are, staring down aggressive growth goals, needing to level up your marketing function—fast.

That’s why I created 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲-𝗨𝗽 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗿𝘆.

Think of it as your "Batphone" to me. A direct line to an expert who’s been where you are – getting Marketing ready for the big leap from regional to national.

✅ Monthly strategic boardroom sessions to map out what scaling means for your department 
✅ “Ask Me Anything” calls to tackle roadblocks in real-time 
✅ Proven playbooks & templates so you don’t have to start from scratch 
✅ A true sounding board—because big decisions shouldn’t be made in a vacuum

Scaling marketing doesn’t have to be a solo sport. If you need a Batphone, let’s talk.

But what if you’re not at the scaling stage yet? What if marketing isn’t bringing in buyers in the first place? I saw that gap too.

So I teamed up with two experts—each a specialist in their field—to build 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘀.

Mass marketing is dead. Leads ≠ Buyers. And if the wrong buyers keep showing up, no amount of marketing spend will fix it.

That’s why we created a 30-day accelerator that aligns marketing and sales to attract High Value Buyers—the ones who are ready to invest now.

If you’re a Founder or CEO of a high-touch B2C business ($10M-$20M revenue, 50-100 employees) and you’re tired of wasting money on marketing that isn’t helping you sell, let’s talk.

📩 DM me with “BATPHONE” if you’re scaling up Marketing to support ambitious company growth.

📩 DM me with “MTS” if you want to help your buyers to buy and your sellers to sell.

Shubham S.

Brand Manager at Dole Singapore-Malaysia | Consumer Goods Marketing | Helping new marketers grow in their careers

A believer in the power of brands to influence sustainable lifestyle choices, I love scaling brands from 1 to 10 rapidly. 

-------- Current Role:----------

At Grab, to grow key QSR brands’ reach and revenue in SEA. I am handling end to end enterprise services on Grab for them. 

-------- Past Roles:----------


I was building Kind Kones, a plant based ice cream brand with no palm oil or negative additives. 

Whether it's door to door selling to presenting in board rooms, I donned every hat with humility. 

I helped a team of 40+ people to expand the business in SG/MY/Middle East. 

Before that,  I expanded Dole's business through in India, Singapore, Malaysia, Mongolia and Brunei. 

I also led Dole juices launch in Jollibee, Fairprice and 2600 7-Eleven stores, apart from regular retail listings and marketing.

Previously, I was leading marketing and BD for India business where I helped Dole reach $1M + revenue in Year 1, including co-branded partnership with McDonald’s in 150 stores.
 
I also love to distill interesting marketing and startup concepts to help young folks grow.  

Hence, I write on LinkedIn. 

-------- Japan experience:----------

Previously, I was the youngest Project Lead in Japan in Energy sector but soon realised my heart was in marketing. 

To confirm that my heart's voice isn't a quarter life crisis, I conducted food tours in Tokyo, dabbled in own sandwich business and consulted in food industry. 

The love for marketing was confirmed!  

The issue of sustainability is also close to my heart. 

-------- Student life:----------

So, prior to FMCG life, I published research papers in the field of Sustainable resources and technologies like Bio-fuels, Bio-Lubricants, Gas Emission control and also filed a patent related to Fuel Oil Storage. 

I have also developed a sub-$100 Solar Dryer for rural community which can work beyond sunset.

My outdoor interests range from Copy Writing, Geo-politics, Snowboarding, Mountain Trekking.  Food-trotting in groups and other times I can be found writing and creating food recipes.

Chief Operating Officer

2016. Japan. Age 23.

Got a call from my manager:  

“Fly to Malaysia. The boiler we shipped to a power plant site is leaking.”

🍍A leaking boiler is a potential blast hazard.

I had zero experience fixing one.  

Never been to Malaysia.  

Never seen a construction site.

Yet I packed my bags and flew out — no plan, no backup.

Day 1 — 9 AM.  

🍍The site manager looks at me, goes hysterical, and throws a pen in frustration.  

Not because I was late or rude but because my manager had sent a rookie.

Stunned but focused, I rushed to inspect the damage.  

By end of the day, I had a 15-day plan to fix the mess — weekends and nights included.

We worked quietly, keeping it off the client’s radar.  

Formed a team, found local fabricators, poached workers, and used Google Translate to communicate.  

It was messy, scrappy, and relentless.

16–17 hours a day.  

40°C heat.  

Rain, mud, and welding sparks.

🍍We finished the job in 13 days. 

I stayed another 18 months.  

The “rookie” who showed up clueless earned respect through hustle, despite abuse. 


Get your hands dirty when you’re young.  

Future corporate struggles will aww cute! 


#shubhamspeaks

Shubham Sharma 🍍

Grab | ex-COO Kind Kones | Bain Advisory | P&L Management | QSR

No alternative text description for this image

Boomerang! 

A few years ago I was working on scaling Dole banana plantations in Vietnam, 

Away from the Philippines as climate change was bringing plant diseases rampaging miles and miles of plantations. 

Today, the alternative Dole Vietnam farms are up and running and supplying my current office at Grab. 

That’s what I love about tangible consumer businesses, 

you can see sustained visible impact. 

Banana Boomerang! 


#shubhamspeaks

Few books leave you with an impression, 

Rare are those which are implementable. 

Ikigai 365 is one of those. 

Congrats Shivendu Nadkarni for co-authoring this gem. 

The book is set is Japan and takes you through 4 seasons of life (Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter) as a metaphor. 

Each chapter talks about a normal person finding reasons to feel fulfilled. 

Whether it is caring for someone, watering plans, serving that ramen everyday, it’s the small pleasures that give meaning to life. 

🍍I anxiously think about my purpose when I will grow older. 

It will definitely be around mentoring and serving people (not gadgets, expensive toys) 

🍍So , The one that most resonated with me was the story of Masako san, who even at 83, after death of her husband, runs a Ramen shop with just 2 items and practices dance to feel alive. 

It’s not about survival, everytime she finds hard to go, the look on a satisfied customer keeps her going. 

I lived through the same feelings during my life running an ice cream chain. It’s funny despite our differences, I can relate. 

That’s the beauty of this book. 

You can relate to and reflect on any phase of life. 

Well done, Shiv and team! 


PS: I am gifting 3 copies of this. Comment below if you would love to have one. Amazon link in the comments. 


#shubhamspeaks

I was the only judge with no banking-lending background 

in a shark-tank like pitch sessions by Grab’s fin-tech folks. 

I felt a little out of place initially but soon caught up. Thanks to my struggles being an SME operator previously. 

And boy! the passion to serve the underserved individual businesses such as a food stall owner was palpable. 

🍍The aggregators with who the small operators interact daily do have a better chance of serving the short term cash or even cheaper ingredient needs. 

Using the whole Grab ecosystem of mart, mobility, payments gives us a better chance to help than traditional ways. 

Kudos to the winners for creating a win-win product for food stall guys and us. 

Thanks for organizing Yesh Gunewardena. 


#shubhamspeaks

Hilarious consumer insight from my Vietnam trip,

'We don't want to smell like fried chicken in the day', 

So, we order delivery. 

Certain fried chicken brands have really old stores with limited seating and bad ventilation. 

It has repulsed the consumers, especially women, from dining in and opting for delivery instead. 

Hence, the lunch segment is very strong in Vietnam.

The future is delivery-focused, sleeker & cleaner stores in VN. 

HVAC guys? that's your cue. 

#shubhamspeaks

As I wrap up my trip to Jakarta, I’m leaving with 2 powerful takeaways that speak volumes about Indonesia’s dynamic trajectory.


🇮🇩 The Rise of Homegrown Champions

I couldn't help but notice the palpable sense of national pride in domestic food and beverage brands.

From the iconic flavors of Pagi Sore and Sari Ratu to the modern coffee culture of Fore Coffee and Kopi Kenangan, my Indonesian friends vehemently insisted I try them all.

This push signifies more than just great taste; it reflects a nation's growing economic self-esteem and the success of local entrepreneurs. 



🍍Leading with Heart

The team, particularly under the leadership of Roy Nugroho, is one of the best I have encountered in the region. 

Their true north star is fostering genuine relationships and authentic care for our clients. 


Especially amid the intense platform and merchants competition, it is hard for brands to tread solo and this team becomes their partner towards growth. 


A huge thank you to the team for the valuable insights and partnership this week. 


Sampai jumpa lagi, Jakarta!

Everyone's raging over fried chicken. 

Yet the QSR industry is ignoring a monumental, profitable opportunity: 

🍍 Sauce forward-Healthier Chicken (rotisserie/grilled).

This is a massive strategic error because it misses the fastest-growing consumer segments:

The Health-Conscious Mover (40% are looking to cut fried)

The Gen-Z protein person (75% are looking for natural proteins)

People who are purchasing from non-QSR local brands. 

These are customers willing to pay a premium for quality.

🍍Here's something I would love to see: 

🍍 Introduce a high-margin Rotisserie/Grilled Protein Bowl or "Guilt-Free Wrap." 

This uses the new protein as a premium add-on to existing menus, appealing to the customization trend.

🍍 Operations: Zero cooking oil, Batch cooking , combi-oven and high humidity heaters to keep the chicken moist. 

🍍 Flavor & Transparency: Use bold, global sauces (Soy Garlic, Chili-Lime) to make the roasted chicken exciting. Market it based on wellness attributes like "Lean Protein" and "Clean Prep."

The first major QSR brand to successfully scale a premium, non-fried chicken menu will win future consumers. 

What do you think? 


#shubhamspeaks

Unpopular opinion: 

Brands who let Marketing lead the relationship with food aggregators win long term, 

Brands that let operation/delivery folks run the show find it hard to grow the user base and overindulge in promos. 

This is very true for franchisees who see food aggregators as solely a delivery channel 

and not as a marketing channel. 

I have seen QSR/Coffee/dessert brands triple their business in 18-21 months once they switch to marketing happens. 

If you are a franchisor or franchisee, time to audit this relationship. 



#shubhamspeaks

The narrative that QSRs thrive just because consumers are broke is fundamentally flawed. 

In 2025, flat pricing guarantees margin compression.

The winning strategy is the Barbell Playbook:

🍍 The Barbell Menu: Drive essential traffic with low-margin value items, but secure profitability with high-margin LTOs (the 'heavy' end). This is crucial for boosting the average check size.

🍍Margin Amplification: Integrate cultural merchandise or character collaborations (like Labubu) with premium LTOs. This delivers vastly superior margins beyond food cost alone.

🍍Digital Segmentation: Use food aggregators (30-50% of sales) strategically. Push high-margin LTOs through these channels to reach the ready-to-spend customer, while handling low-margin volume in-store.

This strategy executed by leaders optimizes for both traffic and profit across the polarized income spectrum.

What's your observation on this? 

#shubhamspeaks

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Catherine Hamilton

Shubham S.

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The Battle

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Shubham S.

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Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Shubham S.'s LinkedIn Performance

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