From recruitment founder to fractional CMO
I spent more than a decade co-founding and running RecruitPlus, a Singapore recruitment firm I built from scratch to more than 3,000 placements and S$30M in total billings. Along the way, RecruitPlus was named in Human Resources magazine’s HR Vendors of the Year in both 2013 and 2014, was a Commended Winner at The Global Recruiter Asia Pacific Recruitment Industry Awards 2013, and ran what was probably Singapore’s first viral YouTube recruitment campaign, with 2 million views before that was even a thing. At SHRI’s Singapore HR Awards 2013, I was named Leading HR Entrepreneur.
Then I sold my stake, tried a few other things and worked for other people, and somewhere along the way realised the corporate world and I had grown apart. In 2021 I went solo. I’d failed at self-employment once before; the second time, I figured it out.
What I do now
I’m a fractional CMO for HR tech companies. I work with growth-stage HR tech vendors selling into Singapore and Asia, setting the marketing direction and doing the work myself: positioning, content, campaigns and sales support.
Having sat on the vendor side of the HR buying table for a decade, I know how CHROs and HR leaders evaluate software, and I’ve spent 12+ years building an audience among them: 49K+ LinkedIn followers in the HR and HR tech community and 18K+ subscribers to my LinkedIn newsletter.
Books, podcasts and writing
- Author, No More Bosses: The Journey to Sustainable Self-Employment (Penguin Random House SEA, 2024). A candid guide to sustainable self-employment for mid-career professionals, including the story of my first, failed attempt. See it on Amazon.
- Host, Rolling Stories. Rolling Arrays’ podcast, where I interview CHROs and HR leaders about their careers and their take on HR tech, with guests from companies such as Singtel and Central Retail. Watch on YouTube.
- Host, aTalent’s Trailblazer Podcast. Conversations with leaders from companies such as Moët Hennessy and Kredivo Group.
- Former co-host, CNA’s Work It podcast.
- Writer, Will That Work? Honest, occasionally uncomfortable writing on work, careers and life beyond the hamster wheel, published since 2014 on my blog and Substack and as a LinkedIn newsletter.
Speaking and moderation
I speak and moderate at HR and HR tech events: keynotes, webinar moderation and panels. Rates are on the pricing section, and audience statistics are in my media kit.
Find me elsewhere
- LinkedIn: Adrian Tan and Marketing Sumo
- Newsletter: Will That Work?
- Media kit: passionfroot.me/adriantan