Fundamental Truth: Shaadia Vawda

Welcome to Episode 54 of The Incredible Machines podcast! In this thought-provoking conversation, Jon Oliff and Luke Holden sit down with Shaadia Vawda, an award-winning marketing executive, leadership coach and former global executive who has built brands across South Africa, the United Kingdom and international markets.  

Known for her passion for leadership development, innovation and helping organisations embrace change, Shaadia offers practical wisdom for navigating an increasingly uncertain world. During the episode we also touch on her leaving corporate life, the future of AI and human judgement, and why authentic marketing will always begin with telling the truth.   

From discovering marketing almost by accident to leading iconic brands at Unilever and Nestlé, she shares the lessons that shaped her leadership philosophy, why curiosity is more valuable than certainty, and how empathy unlocks the potential in people.  

This episode is a must listen for anyone interested in leadership, marketing, and building a career driven by purpose rather than certainty.        ⏱ Timestamped Overview 

00:51 – Introduction to Shaadia Vawda.  02:20 – Growing up in Durban during Apartheid.  03:14 – Discovering Marketing by Accident and the Unexpected Career Path.  04:23 – Cold Calling Businesses and Landing her First Marketing Role.  05:21 – Joining Unilever and Beginning a Career in Global Brand Marketing.  07:02 – Why Empathy is the Foundation of Exceptional Leadership.  10:08 – The "Yesterday's Best" Exercise and Building Culture.  14:52 – A Difficult Manager at Nestlé London and One of her Greatest Teachers.  21:06 – Childhood Independence and Early Responsibilities.  22:07 – The U Train Leadership Programme.  27:39 – The Values that Guided her Throughout her Career.  32:38 – Leaving Corporate Life and Completing an MBA.  35:25 – Escaping the "Golden Handcuffs" of Corporate Life.  43:59 – Lessons and her Perspective on Entrepreneurship.  48:52 – AI will Push more People towards Entrepreneurial Thinking.  49:44 – Her MBA research into Artificial Intelligence and Human Judgement.  57:02 – The Biggest Challenges Organisations Face when Implementing AI.  01:18:10 – Why the Greatest Principle in Advertising is Telling the Truth.        💬 Quote of the Episode 

“The most fundamental thing you can do in advertising is tell the truth.” – Shaadia Vawda        🧠 Related Campaign Example   BMW Mouse Ad Campaign: Shaadia highlights the BMW Mouse commercial as one of her favourite examples of effective advertising. She admires the campaign because it doesn't try too hard. It transforms a technical feature into something entertaining and emotionally engaging, while remaining focused on what the product can actually do.  

For her, the advert demonstrates that truth in advertising does not need to be dull or overly literal. A brand can communicate an honest product benefit while still using imagination, music, humour and exceptional creative execution to capture attention. 

BMW Mouse Ad Campaign: https://youtu.be/JNuaQrTubeI?si=Bckb1FPL7n0raZzU  

   👣 Relevant Links & Mentions 

Shaadia Vawda’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/execmktdirector-bluechip-fmcg/    Shaadia Vawda’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aidaahsshaadia    Shaadia Vawda’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aidaahsshaadia/     

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