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Ready for a challenge.

A designer-turned-strategist-turned-project-manager, I live for achieving new goals. I’m always on the lookout for new challenges - whether it’s climbing to the top of an abandoned castle or course-correcting a difficult project.

If you have a business challenge, I’m here to provide some structure and innovation, creativity & logic, ideation & execution, and of course, fun & professionalism.


Select Areas of Expertise

Mock up store for storytelling and focus group testing

Concept to Market

Business Problem:

At a previous fashion company, sales and traffic were declining every quarter.

Approach:

Leading the concept team, we quickly went straight to the customer (and non-customers) to understand what they were truly looking for. Based on their feedback and our industry research, we built and tested new concepts to successfully launch a rebranding collection in 3 months.

Result:

Increased sales by 30% and in-store traffic by 50% in two weeks

Scorecard prototype - mock data for confidentiality

Supply Chain Operations

Business Problem:

The strategy team and executives needed visibility to all aspects of a supplier’s performance in order to allocate business and build strategic partnerships, but our systems and ways of working had their limitations.

Approach:

Through interviews, I learned who needed this tool and for what, and understood the technical, human, and financial resource limitations. In a few short weeks, I built a supplier scorecard framework and logic, and created an automated prototype.

Result:

Lead a team to build the final scorecard tool and roll out the new process to entire organization of 800 and all external suppliers.

Sample of work for confidentiality

PMO and Transformation

Business Problem:

Throughout Covid disruptions, the team faced many delays in our strategic priorities. By year-end, we were tracking at less than 25% project portfolio completion.

Approach:

By analyzing the root causes of delay, I identified key focus areas in 2021 as a strategy to build a more robust project portfolio governance process, including: accuracy and transparency on project success measures, resource mapping, change management plans, and automated tracking tools and dashboards.

Result:

Within 3 months, the project portfolio performance improved by 160%.


The past 11 years:

4

in

Bachelor’s of Design, Honours

Ryerson University, Canada

2010-2014

3

as

Concept Designer, Retail & Product Management

Garage Clothing, Canada

2014-2017

1.5

in

MBA

HKUST, Hong Kong

2017-2019

London Business School (Exchange)

1.5

as

Strategy Executive Assistant to Executive Vice President, Retail & Sourcing

Gap Inc., Hong Kong

2019-2020

1

as

Senior Manager of Change Management and Transformations, Project Management Office

Gap Inc., Hong Kong

2020-present


Past and Present Experience

Project management

Developed project portfolio management system, including: project intake, project development, planning and prioritisation, progress tracking and reporting, resource management, change management, dependencies & risks management, and project review and reporting

From concept to launch (product & marketing)

Explored customer preferences and behaviours to create concepts for both product & marketing, setting seasonal direction from development to launch up to 6 times a year

Cross-functional experience

Consistently work across 7-10 functions to bring people together in collaborative ways of working - to identify business and customer needs, brainstorm and test ideas, while building lasting partnerships

Senior executive engagement

Bi-weekly meetings with internal and external senior executives on project updates and areas of improvement to align on critical path forward

Change management and transformation

Led cultural transformation strategy to improve the way 900 employees work; conducted workshops with over 15% of employees to redefine the organisation’s purpose, vision, and mission


Entrepreneurial Sparks

A business plan worth $500,000hkd

In the MBA, I naturally gravitated towards consulting (because it’s like solving complex puzzles!), but couldn’t stay away from the excitement of creating something new. So I helped a tech student develop a business plan and financial model for his wearable music technology start-up. I loved learning about how the tech worked, being a part of the design process, and seeing the protos come to life. At our first ever pitch to a group of investors, our sound business plan and partnership won over $500,000HKD in initial funding. 

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Giving youth talent a stage to shine

Growing up I loved performing, whether it’s dance recitals, piano showcases, or singing on the stage. The problem is, where I lived, there were virtually no opportunities for young people to show off their talent. So, with my fellow passionate performers, we founded a non-profit organization reaching 6 cities and over 40 volunteers to provide youths with a stage to stand on. We received overwhelming support from businesses and communities, managing not only to breakeven in our first year, but also donate profits to Make-A-Wish Foundation. Turns out people follow you when you’re passionate about the right cause!


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Additional skills:

English (Native), Mandarin (Fluent), French (Basic)

Problem solving, data analysis, project and portfolio management, stakeholder management, change management, design, presentation design and delivery, research and reporting, entrepreneurship, leadership

Microsoft Office, PowerBI, Smartsheet, Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop


Get in touch

Dandianali@gmail.com
(852) 56464602

Flat A4, 7F 71-85 Hennessy Road
Wanchai, Hong Kong