I’m curious about how culture, wealth, and tech keep changing what “luxury” means. I run NEON NAVY, where I help businesses reach high-net-worth audiences. I’m also CMO at Viperium, where we’re redefining access to trading by giving new traders capital to start, scaling opportunities and designing the token economy that powers it all.These are my Field Notes and this is the place where I share the ride. Part work, part observation, part side-thoughts. From Milan, Dubai, or wherever I end up. Subscribe if you like sharp takes with a human edge.
Field Note 08: Life After the Logo
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Hi everyone, This month marks two years since I walked away from my dream job at Lamborghini and naturally, it’s been a reflective couple of weeks. Listening to a podcast this morning with Steve Versano where he touches on personal branding reminded me of something few people talk about: how much of your personal brand gets wrapped up in the brand you work for, especially in luxury. And what happens when you leave? When I was weighing up my resignation, one thought kept looping in my mind: “Leaving Lamborghini will mean saying goodbye to access.” And I can confirm, it’s true. Working for a marquee name with history, persona and reputation opens doors you can’t imagine. Calls get answered, gifts and tickets appear, invitations flood in. Everyone wants a piece of Lamborghini, and by extension, a piece of you. It’s intoxicating. It boosts your ego, your social media, even your dating life (I once dated a guy who literally just wanted to drive a Lamborghini. Spoiler: he didn’t). But here’s the reality: they don’t want you; they want the brand behind you. And in luxury, whether automotive, fashion, watches, this is amplified. In marketing roles it’s even more pronounced, because your job overflows into evenings, weekends, events, travel. The brand becomes your life. And for many, it becomes their identity. And when you leave, you have to walk out with only yourself and your own “brand.” I guess that’s one reason some people never leave. Looking back, I spent far more time building up Lamborghini’s brand than my own. Rightly so. They paid me well, moved me across countries, gave me extraordinary opportunities. But it’s easy to wonder sometimes if it came at the expense of my own identity. Two years on, I’ve realised just how critical it is to invest in your personal brand alongside your employer’s. Because you never know when you’ll need it. I had the luxury of choosing to leave and start something new; others don’t always get that choice. So ask yourself: Who are you when you’re not working at the big, flashy company with the big name? What I'm Up To Lately:Viperium. The Trading EmporiumBig news! Alongside my consulting and project work at NEON NAVY, I’ve taken on the role of Chief Marketing Officer for Viperium. If you’re curious about the bridge between luxury marketing and FinTech / Crypto / Web3, get in touch. We’re working on some exciting things ahead of our ICO and platform debut later this year. What I'm Into Right Now:📚 Books: The Courage to be Disliked, by Ichiro Kishimi & Fumitake Koga 🎧 Podcast: A recent Episode from The Gstaad Guy Podcast, with Steve Versano: Founder of The Jet Business - Aviation, Entreperneurship, Corporate Jets & The Art of The Deal
Where You Can Find Me (When I'm not in Milan):📍 Singapore | Token2049: 28 September - 3 October The world’s largest crypto event, right alongside the F1 weekend! If you'll be there, let's grab some noodles. Thanks for reading everyone, and have a great weekend! Zantelle |
Zantelle van der Linde
I’m curious about how culture, wealth, and tech keep changing what “luxury” means. I run NEON NAVY, where I help businesses reach high-net-worth audiences. I’m also CMO at Viperium, where we’re redefining access to trading by giving new traders capital to start, scaling opportunities and designing the token economy that powers it all.These are my Field Notes and this is the place where I share the ride. Part work, part observation, part side-thoughts. From Milan, Dubai, or wherever I end up. Subscribe if you like sharp takes with a human edge.
Hello everyone, A few days ago, after a surprisingly disappointing experience in a Bottega Veneta store, triggered by an issue with one of my favourite handbags, I found myself thinking about something the luxury world still underestimates: the people on the front line. The individuals in boutiques and showrooms. The ones who are the experience long before the product. Story Time Let’s rewind to 2015. I had just taken on my regional role overseeing 13 Lamborghini dealerships across the Middle...
Hello everyone, And just like that, it’s November. Christmas plans are forming, inboxes are filling and most of you are deep in Budget Season. Before the year wraps up, it’s worth pausing on something that should sit at the centre of every 2026 plan: Humans are pack animals. Read that again. We thrive in communities. We want to belong. Post-pandemic, this instinct is louder than ever. People are rejecting over-digitised lifestyles and seeking real connection. For those of us marketing to HNW...
Hello everyone, Field Note 08: Life After the Logo clearly struck a nerve, and I’m glad it did. The messages, DMs, and conversations that followed made one thing clear. A lot of people working in luxury have been feeling the same quiet frustration. And since we’re being honest, let’s talk about luxury automotive marketing. For years it’s been stuck in reverse. The same tired event formats, the same visuals, the same tone of voice recycled since the nineties. It’s not just uninspired; it’s...