Semreen Ahmed
Marketing Manager for Hyundai and Genesis, First Motors

What made you head down the marketing road, both in general and, particularly, in automotive?
I have always enjoyed networking and meeting people from diverse backgrounds. In fact, I organised my first successful event, a leadership conference, at the age of 17.
I knew very early on that I wasn’t meant for a monotonous job, so I found myself gravitating towards marketing. It’s a fastpaced and ever-changing field, you can be creative and let your imagination run wild.
My passion for cars and love for the open road lead me down the automotive industry route. Driving is a journey, an adventure and cars are more than machines, they’re a space where you can unwind, do some deep thinking and share memories.

What are the best things about your job?
There’s a lot to love about my job. The field is getting more creative and more technical at the same time. Apart from driving amazing cars, I love the variety of perspective and ideas that I’m exposed to on a daily basis. The communication is so diverse, from reporting progress to stakeholders, working with sales and aftersales teams to drive business and brainstorming with creative agencies to networking with media and building relationships with customers. You learn something new every day and no two days ever feel the same.
The automotive industry and marketing are constantly evolving with the shifts in consumer behaviour presenting different challenges every day – these are exciting times for marketers!

Who are the business minds that inspire you?
I have a long list of people that inspire me. To name a few:
Mark Zuckerberg, the man who connected the world with Facebook and changed the networking landscape but didn’t stop there, with Meta he is creating a more realistic Metaverse – from hand movements, to being able to make eye contact digitally.
Hal Elrod, author of the Miracle Morning, speaker and success coach. Despite being clinically dead for six minutes, in a coma for six days, breaking many bones and being told that he would never walk again, not only did he walk but he ended up running a 52-mile ultramarathon. He bounced back after losing everything he’d worked for and created the Miracle Morning ritual, which became the bestselling book.
Tom Bilyeu, co-founder of Quest Nutrition and CEO of Impact Theory. He made a decision to turn around his life and went from being lazy and living on a pay cheque to creating his billion-dollar brand and is now inspiring millions of others through Impact theory.
Seth Godin, the ‘God’ of marketing and owner of Akimbo. He’s the author of 18 international bestsellers focusing on the post-industrial revolution, the way ideas spread, marketing, quitting, leadership and making an impact. He is transforming thousands of individuals and businesses through his educational platform.