Nuzhat Merchant

Nuzhat Merchant is a seasoned digital and customer experience (CX) marketing veteran, having globally launched iconic products with integrated customer-first strategies across global markets in a range of sectors over two decades. She has conceptualized campaigns for brands as diverse as Panadol, Adidas, Mashreq Bank, and Range Rover, all based on data-driven, precision customer-centric strategies. Nuzhat is particularly proud of her campaign to launch the Range Rover Evoque in 2015, which took place in a first-ever digital film. The transformative Ardhi campaign, which dissolved the line between above-the-line and below-the-line marketing. Built on a theme of people celebrating their land. Among other activities, the team launched a website; collaborated with Sony Music to create a single made from the sounds and voices from this land; developed an app that took people to the far and wide areas of this land; and strung together stories of people who had brought pride to this land. She recently moved into the digital and CX side of Ford’s business from a marketing role in which she launched iconic nameplates such as the F-150, Raptor, Explorer, Expedition, and – most notably – the legendary Bronco. Nuzhat currently manages the digital ecosystem for both Ford and Lincoln, entailing platform maintenance and development, user experience based on data and HeatMap analysis, and benchmarking. The other aspect of her role involves developing a consistent CX strategy from the ground up to achieve Ford’s global goal of treating customers like family across all its markets. Nuzhat believes market dynamics require Ford to be nimble, cost-effective, and agile to respect and move with its partner distributors. Nuzhat holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the American University of Dubai. Outside of work, she’s kept quite busy as a single mom to Zurene, 15, and Zoya, 10. She’s also an actor, student of integrative nutrition, reiki healer, writer, and chef.