Aela Abalos is an award-winning marketeer & brand developer, seasoned digital & PR expert and writer currently based in New York. Aela’s passion for crafting started at an early age as she immersed herself through visual & written art. In 2005, Aela became a published author with the book Sa Kabila ng Ritmo (Beyond Rhymes) – a collection of poetry of upcoming young Filipino poets. She continued to nurture her love for understanding art & culture as she finished her BS Business Management degree at Ateneo de Manila University.
In 2006, she began to explore her love for crafting in a different way. Tapping her entrepreneurial side, she worked with a team of like-minded young female entrepreneurs to launch a coffee alternative brand called Kapesoi under Quade Inc. in the Philippines; serving coffee-loving consumers with caffeine related medical issues.
2008 was when she took a risk (moving to Singapore) and went corporate to continue exploring her love for building, crafting & developing brands. Initially working with Procter & Gamble in their Fabric & Home Care division, she led the Mr.Clean/Bonux detergent business serving low-income Southeast Asian consumers for 2 years. Followed by a now more than decade-long career with Unilever in their Beauty & Personal Care division. First in growing & establishing Unilever’s foremost scalp care brand Clear to serve dandruff & scalp-sufferers globally. More recently, she has been working on Unilever’s premiere purpose-led brand Dove, specifically for its hair business, based out of New York. Aela has led numerous global & North American specific innovations such as the Dove Amplified Textures range – a line of specially designed haircare products for Black consumers. She also continues to champion diversity & inclusion in her work by working on projects such as the ‘My Hair, My Crown’ campaign with Kelly Rowland, the CROWN Act & CROWN Coalition and the Oscar-award winning Hair Love campaign with Matthew Cherry.
Earning several industry-based awards, Aela has had a series of amazing & unforgettable life & career experiences and learning opportunities. In this journey, she discovered & learned that having a purpose in life is crucial to survival. It is crucial for one’s happiness. She continues to embark on a path of being a life designer: a person that fashions things & experiences into life, into an identity, into being. She continues to learn, relish in her successes and picking up the pieces on various failures so she can continue to evolve to be of service & represent underserved communities through her work.
