Lin Lin

Bilingual (Mandarin/English) internal communications leader with nearly nine years at DRÄXLMAIER China, a German multinational automotive-components manufacturer with a workforce of more than 10,000 across five plants and two offices. Built the China Corporate Communications function from scratch and served as trusted communications partner to the regional China leadership, owning executive speechwriting, town hall and summit messaging, and sensitive-issue communications. Brings together IC strategy, employee engagement and change communications expertise with hands-on delivery in complex, multi-site matrix organisations.

Independent Brand Communications Consultant at Independent Brand Communications Consultant (2025-04 – Present)

• Advise SME clients on brand strategy, internal and external communications planning and offline activation
• Integrated AI tools into content production and delivered an exhibition presence at the Zhangjiajie Global Tourism Commodity Expo

Senior Manager, Corporate Communications / Corporate Communications China Lead at DRÄXLMAIER Group China (2016-09 – 2025-04)

German automotive-components multinational (a top-100 global supplier; customers include BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi). Led a lean communications function reporting to the China CEO, serving a matrix organisation of more than 10,000 employees across five plants and two offices.

• Built the China internal communications framework from scratch, developing and delivering an audience-first strategy and annual plan aligned with business objectives and global priorities
• Established a multi-channel employee communication matrix (intranet, internal publication, WeChat, mobile app, digital screens) that engaged both office-based and frontline manufacturing employees across five plants and two offices
• Led the digital transformation of the internal newsletter, moving from print to mobile delivery and increasing readership by 20% through data-driven optimisation and employee feedback loops
• Created a cross-functional plant and office communications network, chairing regular information-sharing meetings with plant managers and functional heads (peaking at more than ten a month) which informed an audience-first editorial calendar and brought frontline voices into corporate messaging
• Established brand content review mechanisms across plants and offices, ensuring cross-location brand consistency
• Acted as trusted communications partner to the regional China leadership, drafting and editing Chinese and English speeches, talking points, presentations and announcements for town halls, leadership summits and employee events; prepared first drafts of communications involving the Global CEO
• Coached China leaders on executive communications and brand storytelling, ensuring consistent messaging and polished delivery at every level of the organisation
• Localised the Group's global values for China through a practical activation package (values booklet, workplace posters, English-language podcast and H5/mobile campaign) built on employee workshop input
• Designed and delivered culture programmes — including workshops combining intangible cultural heritage with brand values — and established brand labs and employee honour walls at plants to strengthen belonging and pride
• Spent regular time on the shop floor interviewing frontline workers, amplifying employee stories and operational spotlights across corporate channels
• Partnered with HR to embed culture into the employee lifecycle: developed train-the-trainer programmes for HR managers and department heads, ensuring brand values were consistently conveyed during onboarding, training, and daily operations
• Built the China CSR framework from scratch; co-designed China-specific CSR visual identity and tagline with headquarters; launched CSR ambassador programme; the "Golden Childhood" programme was shortlisted as Large Enterprise Category Finalist by German Chamber of Commerce in China "More than a Market" Initiatives (alongside Adidas China and SAP China)
• Supported two major workforce restructurings (~1,000 and ~2,000 employees) as a core task-force member, owning the change-communication strategy, employee and external messaging and manager training; both were completed with no material external reputational impact
• Led the cross-functional response to an employee-protest incident together with Legal, plant leadership, HR and security — covering evidence preservation, escalation and media-response considerations — and documented the approach as a reusable framework adopted by other China plants
• Led end-to-end communications for the China 20th-anniversary celebration: an event for 8,000 employees attended by the Global CEO and the Chairman of the Board, owning site assessment, plant coordination, visual identity, video production, supplier management and global coordination
• Managed full-cycle planning for exhibitions, media open days, and new plant inaugurations; created Chinese New Year cultural event IP, coordinating traditional festival activities with post-event data review for continuous optimisation
• Built relationships with governmental authorities, charitable foundations, chambers of commerce, foreign consulates, and industry institutions; coordinated high-level diplomatic visits including consul general tours across plants
• Designed recurring employee surveys (activity satisfaction, understanding of brand, future needs) and built a "research–diagnose–improve" closed loop that shifted culture communication from top-down messaging to employee co-creation, using readership and feedback data to optimise content cadence and reach

Overseas Communications Operations Manager at Chunlei Musical Instruments (2014 – 2016)

PR & Marketing Events Officer at Harrow International School Beijing (2013 – 2014)

Marketing Communications Specialist at King & Wood Mallesons Law Firm (2011 – 2013)

Business Operations Coordinator at Merlin Entertainments – The London Eye (2010 – 2011)

MA in Cultural & Creative Industries – King's College London

BA in English – Beijing Language and Culture University