S3E10 – Why “Balance” Is Bad for Personal Branding

Ever been told you’re “too much”? Too loud, too emotional, too aggressive? Amrita Randhawa owns it – and I loved every minute of this chat with her! In this episode of Rewrite the Rules, I sit down with Amrita, the CEO of Publicis Groupe for Singapore and Southeast Asia, who’s spent 25 years shaping brands across Asia. From crying at work to calling out “work-life balance” as a scam, she gets real about leadership, ambition, and showing up as your full, fierce self. We talk about what it means to build a personal brand (without the cringe), why women need to stop second-guessing their success, and how Asia’s time is now. Tune in for bold truths and refreshing clarity.

Discussion Topics: Why “Balance” Is Bad for Personal Branding

• Can a “vibe” be your brand? Why feelings matter more than logos.
• Three words, one brand: A fun trick to discover your personal essence.
• Think you control your image? Think again.
• Why smart women stay silent—and how to change that.
• What if your passion is the only place to start?
• From “not qualified” to CEO: Her accidental Asian career path.
• Asia ≠ one market. So why do we still treat it like one?
• What if your accent, culture, and chaos are actually strengths?
• Aggressive, pushy, bossy—what if we owned those labels?
• One job changed her life. One rejection changed her mindset.
• Do men and women really make decisions differently? Her surprising answer.
• What she’d tell her younger self (and maybe you need to hear it too).
• The question women leaders ask too often—and why it needs to stop.
• Forget balance. What you need is integration—and honesty.
• Overthinking? Nah. Why gut instinct wins in the long run.
• The one leadership rule she broke—and why you should too.

Our Guest: Amrita Randhawa

Chief Executive Officer, Singapore & South East Asia
Publicis Groupe

Amrita Randhawa is CEO of Publicis Groupe Southeast Asia leading all the Groupe’s capabilities across data, technology, creative and media for the high growth Southeast Asia markets. Amrita took on the role in June, 2021 and is working to elevate the Groupe offering in every market as well as create Centres of Excellence that feed all of Southeast Asia.

Prior to her current role she was CEO of Mindshare Asia Pacific and Executive Chair of Mindshare Greater China where she turned around the Mindshare China operations making it a formidable #1 in the market and maintained Mindshare’s position as the #1 media network in Asia.