Senior Brand & Communications

Ali Vaghefi

Brand Strategist · Product Communicator · Startup Builder

Crafting strategic communications that connect people to products they believe in — with 6+ years across startups, scale-ups, and global organisations in Europe and Asia.

✦ Currently exploring South & Southeast Asia · Fully remote or open to relocate

View Portfolio → Experience LinkedIn

Open to remote & relocation

Who I am

Product-minded strategist with a human-first lens

With 6+ years of cross-functional experience across startups, scale-ups, and global organisations, I bring together brand strategy, communications design, and product thinking to create experiences that genuinely resonate.

From co-founding an AI-powered communication bot in Helsinki to leading the go-to-market launch of a B2B logistics platform in Vietnam — I translate complexity into clarity and build scalable, people-first solutions.

Currently nomadic across Asia, I'm open to fully remote roles or exciting opportunities that involve relocation. IELTS Academic 7 — English fluent.

Years of experience

100+

B2B clients acquired

76%

LinkedIn impressions boost

85%

MVP task success rate

Career

Work experience

2025 — Present

allingo.vn — HCMC, Vietnam (Hybrid)

Marketing Growth Lead

Vietnam's first delivery aggregator

Led brand positioning and market launch connecting merchants with multiple logistics providers
Built 10+ strategic partnerships with Grab, Xanh SM, J&T Express, and Lalamove
Acquired 100+ B2B clients through partnership campaigns across retail and e-commerce
Defined growth roadmap targeting 10K daily orders, scalable to 1M

Go-to-marketBrand strategyB2BLogistics

2024 — Present

HiveGuide Oy — Helsinki, Finland

Co-Founder & Business Developer

AI-powered internal communication platform

Designed and led AI communication product from concept to MVP — 85% task success rate in pilot
Built end-to-end user journeys, wireframes, and brand assets for SME clients
Led stakeholder engagement, usability feedback loops, and pitch communications
Secured Business Finland startup eligibility · Accepted into Business Helsinki accelerator

ProductUX/UIAIStartupFigma

2022 — 2024

Digikala — Tehran (E-commerce · 40M+ daily users)

Senior Communications Specialist

Full-time · On-site

Boosted LinkedIn impressions 76%, grew followers from 96K to 115K
Increased Instagram engagement 60% with employee-generated content
Enhanced DEI & onboarding — employee satisfaction +75%, candidate experience +25%
Redesigned university events — participation +120%, satisfaction +75%

Employer brandingContent designDEIDesign thinking

2019 — 2022

Alibaba.ir — Tehran (Travel · 35M+ daily users)

HR Communications Designer

Full-time · On-site

Boosted Instagram engagement 85% through redesigned content strategy
Strengthened community building 75% with interactive events and campaigns
Enhanced communication touchpoints 40% via office TV news display and internal newsletter

Internal commsCommunityBrand design

Thought leadership

Speaking & workshops

2024

Employer Brand Masterclass

Tehran University — Visiting Lecturer
Delivered a lecture on employee experience, Employee Journey Mapping, touchpoints & measurement. Highlighted the employer brand team's role and social media's impact on employer branding.

2024

The Impact of Design on Business

Experience Zone — Digikala Knowledge-sharing Series
Speaker on candidate experience design and its effects on the ROI of effective recruitment projects.

2023

Design Thinking in Internal Communication

Experience Zone — Digikala Experts Knowledge-sharing
Shared how design thinking was used to create an internal newsletter at Alibaba Travels, with practical frameworks for communications teams.

2022

UX SHIRAZ 6th Conference

Speaker — Conference on User Experience Design
Discussed the intersection of UX and employer branding, sharing research and case studies from Alibaba Travels and Digikala.

2022 – 2024

Employer Branding Community Lead

Founded a 70+ member community in Iran, hosting 5+ gatherings to raise awareness and build expertise in employer branding, people experience, internal communications, and company culture.

2023 – 2024

Helsinki Startup Ecosystem

Start Helsinki Volunteer — People & Marketing Team
Aavistus Festival — Communication & Social Media Partner
Business Helsinki Accelerator — Participant

Capabilities

Skills & tools

✦

Brand & Communications

EVP DevelopmentEmployer BrandingContent StrategyCampaign PlanningGo-to-marketStorytelling

◈

Design & Product

FigmaUX/UI DesignDesign ThinkingService BlueprintingJourney MappingPrototyping

◎

Digital Marketing

LinkedIn GrowthInstagramSEOPodcast ProductionWordPressAnalytics

⬡

Creative Tools

Adobe IllustratorPhotoshopPremiereAfter EffectsMiroPhotography

◇

Leadership & Strategy

Agile PMStakeholder CommsWorkshop FacilitationTeam BuildingVendor Management

◉

Languages & Certifications

English — Fluent (IELTS 7)Persian — NativePMI Comms StrategyADP OnboardingLinkedIn Learning

Education

Academic background

Helsinki University — Finland

Deep Tech & AI Track

2024–2025 · 16 weeks, 8 ECTS
Customer discovery, market validation, Lean Canvas, MVP planning & investor-readiness. Delivered through expert workshops and weekly mentorship.

Business Administration & AI

Soore University — Tehran

Bachelor of Arts — Visual Communications

2021–2024 · GPA 18.05/20 (≈ 4.52/5)
Thesis: Improving student onboarding using Design Thinking. Result: Improved communication plan at every touch-point.

GPA 4.52 / 5

Let's connect

Open to remote roles & relocation

Currently nomadic across South & Southeast Asia, I'm actively seeking remote-first opportunities or roles that involve exciting relocation. Background spans Finland, Iran, and Vietnam — comfortable working across time zones and cultures.

English fluent (IELTS 7) · Persian native · Open to: Brand Strategy, Communications, Product Management, UX & Experience Design

✉

ali.yzv@gmail.com

→ in

linkedin.com/in/alivaghefi

→ ⬡

Startup

HiveGuide — AI Comms Platform

→