About Ashlene

Born and raised in Western Sydney, Ashlene built her career in New York City, spending 20 years shaping strategy for the world’s largest brands before returning to Australia.

She began her career as a music journalist interviewing musicians such as Rihanna, Usher and Missy Elliott, before transitioning into advertising and corporate marketing. Her early work included brand strategy for Gap, Victoria’s Secret Beauty, and LVMH. Ashlene has been featured in the New York Times, Glamour and CNBC for her work.

With a knack for identifying talent and producing creative on a shoestring budget, by 2019 Ashlene had executed 300+ brand influencer campaigns across talent partnerships, creative direction, and production.

In 2020, during the global Black Lives Matter movement, she publicly challenged Australian fashion and beauty brands to address systemic underrepresentation. Her advocacy contributed to policy shifts among leading publishers and brands, including Vogue Australia and MCoBeauty. Today, Ashlene works with Australia top brands and start-ups, focusing on women-centric brands.

Ashlene remains a vocal advocate for equitable representation in the creator economy, particularly addressing the digital pay gap affecting creators of colour.

She recently told Business Insider Australia:

“As the only woman of colour in the room, advocating for talent often becomes me vs. them.”

Ashlene remains passionate about her South Asian roots which began long before she rubbed shoulders with Beyonce, back in1998 when she ran the first website for South Asian youth called 'Hot Ashes' in Australia during her teen years. She is considered one of the pioneers of South Asian journalism in Australia, promoting events, touring with Jay Sean, and interviewing Bollywood stars such as Aamir Khan & M.I.A in Sydney.

You can subscribe to Ashlene’s newsletter ‘Winning With WOC’ on LinkedIn here.