Driving Force

For CAA Sports' Samantha Peihua Chen, diversity is the key to innovation

- Amanda Goh

Growing up, Samantha Peihua Chen was raised by a trifecta of strong women: her mother, grandmother and aunt. They came from little money, but “it was a household that encouraged strong opinions, dreaming big, being yourself and, above all, hard work”, she says, adding that her formative years at Paya Lebar Methodist Girls’ School further cemented the belief that regardless of gender, “anything you put your heart into, you can do with hard work”.

It is with this persevering mindset—and pure grit—that Chen has navigated the male‑dominated global sports marketing industry, where she is executive vice president of partnerships and strategic development for Asia‑Pacific (Apac) at CAA Sports, part of entertainment and sports agency Creative Artists Agency. Having been in the industry for more than 10 years, she has had her fair share of challenges.

“The global sports marketing industry, even in Apac, is still dominated by white males who tend to come from a higher socioeconomic background,” she says, adding that in an industry dominated by a certain background culture typically results in a gap in seeing the full picture—in this case, not being able to fully understand what is required by an Asian client. Despite their best intentions, Chen says that this “unwitting myopia” typically results in the minorities having to work even harder to break through unfair stereotypes to climb up the corporate ladder.