Martinsen Global has secured $1 million in funding to accelerate its U.S. expansion and drive digital innovation in leadership consulting. To learn more, we sat down with Wendi Lu, the company’s Chief Marketing Officer and technology-first innovator, who has been prioritizing data-driven strategy in Martinsen’s leadership development programs. Wendi shares her insights on how this funding will shape the future of Martinsen Global and the industry as a whole.
Ms. Lu, thank you for joining us today. It’s an exciting time for Martinsen Global with the recent funding news. Can you tell us what this means for the company?
Happily—the combination of investor confidence and our proximity to our U.S.-based clients has created an incredible foundation for what’s next. This funding really accelerates our digital transformation, which is what gives us an edge when consulting with leadership in the U.S.’s AI and innovation-driven market.
How do you see the integration of technology playing a role in leadership consulting?
Over the last month, I’ve been collaborating with Martinsen’s training team to talk about what these changes look like. One of my key priorities is to emphasize data—not just in our training materials, but also for Martinsen internally.
It’s surprising how many marketing executives still rely on spreadsheets and a handful of PowerPoint decks as their data stack. For newer talent, dashboards are less intimidating, but the challenge is educating them on asking the right questions and narrativizing the results effectively. Large language models (LLMs) are accelerating that process, making it easier to interact with data in plain English. AI is proving to be an excellent learning tool.
Speaking more broadly, it’s tempting to fall back on traditional ideas of leadership, especially in the absence of new data. So, we start by asking our clients to show us how their messaging and knowledge base is distributed—how often are these platforms used, where are the activity hotspots, and at what times? With the shift toward remote work, the dynamics of communication have changed dramatically. We need to set new expectations for leadership in this environment. How do we recreate the immediacy of in-office communication when so much happens asynchronously? What lessons can we learn from community management and web administration? There’s a lot to be gleaned from spaces that have always been web-first.
Given your background in PR and journalism, how does this influence your approach to your role as CMO, especially in such a social media-driven environment?
We’re seeing a convergence. In journalism, effective storytelling and credibility are what make or break press—you compromise on one, and you risk losing your audience to other publications. These same principles have worked their way into brand marketing, with consumers now expecting authentic, transparent communication. Today, I would argue, social media is inseparable from these expectations.
It’s not just about content, but also about how quickly it reaches people. The ‘CNN effect’ has long influenced politics and broadcast news, and now extends to any public persona, including brands. Brands are expected to keep up, be accountable, and engage with their audiences, almost as influencer identities. My role as CMO involves navigating this fast-paced, hybrid space for Martinsen, and setting an example for our clients.
You’ve spoken about the importance of this new funding in Martinsen’s digital transformation journey. How will Martinsen Global use these resources to further its growth and impact in the U.S. market?
We’re focused on hiring digital natives and technology experts to bolster our leadership development programs—talent that can help our clients navigate an increasingly distributed company structure. The decentralized approach to work means training a new generation of leaders who are ready to meet the demands and nuances of remote teams. Companies that aren’t prepared for these changes are at a tremendous disadvantage. Early U.S. startups have enough on their plates, and we want to give them and their new hires the best possible chance to succeed.
At a high level, we really want to restore confidence in the U.S. job market, which has been shaken up in recent years. The pandemic accelerated digital adoption and exposed gaps in how companies used to manage talent and leadership. The AI boom has shown that technology can be a force multiplier, especially for smaller teams, while automation has enabled 24/7 operations across a number of industries. People are still figuring things out. We’re here to help them.
Looking forward, what are your predictions for the future of marketing, especially with the rise of AI and other advanced technologies?
Marketing has always been a perpetual motion machine—growing, adapting, and reaffirming itself with consumers daily. I’m hopeful that AI can handle the labor-intensive parts of that machine, freeing up human creativity for higher-level work. More ways to process and interpret data is what I’m looking forward to.
Today, I see personalization as the proving ground for AI. Decades of research have gone into the creation of advertising profiles and segmentation, so companies were quick to work with what was available. Instead, I see the next step as something more involved—entire campaigns tailored to an individual’s interests. I predict we’ll move away from pigeonholing customers, and towards creating authentic, personal connections. We can work with the information customers volunteer, and still make it engaging—just look at how much of a cultural phenomenon Spotify’s Wrapped has become.
Finally, what would you say differentiates Martinsen Global in the crowded consulting market?
Our approach blends deep expertise in leadership development with a strategic use of digital tools and platforms. Instead of relying on one-size-fits-all solutions, we tailor our strategies to meet the unique challenges and opportunities our clients face. What sets Martinsen Global apart is that we’re not just adapting to changes in the industry—we’re actively shaping them through our consulting. And we’re excited to help our clients shape the future.
