I'm Awan Rimbawan, a digital strategist and fractional CMO who has built DTC brands from zero using Meta Ads, growing solo operations into full teams of media buyers, creatives, CS, and fulfillment. I know the full lifecycle—not just the advertising layer—and I’ve watched a fast-growing operation break when production, processes, and accountability gaps are left unchecked. With 15+ years of building and running digital businesses across three continents, I operate inside the arena, not from the sidelines. I help founders who need more than a media buyer—someone who sets strategy, builds the team, and owns the outcomes end to end—delivering sustainable growth through operational infrastructure, SOPs, and performance dashboards.

Awan Rimbawan

I'm Awan Rimbawan, a digital strategist and fractional CMO who has built DTC brands from zero using Meta Ads, growing solo operations into full teams of media buyers, creatives, CS, and fulfillment. I know the full lifecycle—not just the advertising layer—and I’ve watched a fast-growing operation break when production, processes, and accountability gaps are left unchecked. With 15+ years of building and running digital businesses across three continents, I operate inside the arena, not from the sidelines. I help founders who need more than a media buyer—someone who sets strategy, builds the team, and owns the outcomes end to end—delivering sustainable growth through operational infrastructure, SOPs, and performance dashboards.

Available to hire

I’m Awan Rimbawan, a digital strategist and fractional CMO who has built DTC brands from zero using Meta Ads, growing solo operations into full teams of media buyers, creatives, CS, and fulfillment. I know the full lifecycle—not just the advertising layer—and I’ve watched a fast-growing operation break when production, processes, and accountability gaps are left unchecked.

With 15+ years of building and running digital businesses across three continents, I operate inside the arena, not from the sidelines. I help founders who need more than a media buyer—someone who sets strategy, builds the team, and owns the outcomes end to end—delivering sustainable growth through operational infrastructure, SOPs, and performance dashboards.

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Language

English
Advanced
Indonesian
Fluent

Work Experience

Digital Strategist / Co-Founder at PT Firli Digital Indonesia
February 1, 2022 - Present
Lead paid media strategy and digital marketing operations for DTC and service-based brands across health, education, and fashion niches; drove thousands of monthly conversions for a fashion manufacturer via Google Ads A/B testing on ads and landing pages; generated 1,000 inbound chats in a single day; achieved cost per lead as low as IDR 1,000; generated 1,000 qualified webinar registrants with full data capture across Meta, TikTok, and YouTube; generated 600+ leads for B2B clients; scaled an online education brand from 20 to 200+ registered participants per batch through Meta Ads optimization and funnel restructuring.
Fractional CMO / Co-Founder at PT. Karya Lingkar Hijau
March 1, 2024 - Present
Built go-to-market strategy and partnership outreach system; secured collaboration with Pertamina Foundation for the BIOVA pilot project; led grant acquisition and business case development, securing research funding from BRIN; developed international partnership framework resulting in collaboration with DGI Germany on the SEKAR Project; represented the company at international forums in Bangkok (2025) and Nairobi (2026) to build visibility and credibility with global sustainability networks.
Ecommerce Manager at Adchemy Indonesia
February 1, 2026 - May 1, 2026
Hired to lead the Indonesian market entry for a US-based health supplement brand — building the full operation from zero; set up end-to-end operations including sourcing local manufacturer, negotiating production costs, establishing fulfillment center and warehouse coordination; built and managed the full team from scratch — Creative Strategist, Video Editor, and Customer Service staff; ran Meta Ads performance campaigns driving hundreds of qualified leads and buyers into a WhatsApp funnel; produced BPOM-compliant Indonesian-language ad copy across multiple formats; owned the full revenue accountability loop from ad spend to fulfillment.
CMO / Founder at FIRLI Fashion
August 1, 2017 - December 1, 2021
Built a DTC Muslim fashion brand from scratch — starting with a single product and a single Facebook Ads account. Grew from a single-person operation into a full team of media buyers, creatives, customer service, and fulfillment in under three years. Built every system from the ground up: hiring SOPs, creative production workflows, CS escalation protocols, and daily performance dashboards. Ran parallel media buying teams and reallocated budget to winning cells within 48 hours. Best-performing cell delivered more than double the return of the weakest in the same month on identical products and funnel. The brand collapsed in 2021 due to production quality issues; this failure taught me precisely where fast-growing DTC operations break and how to watch for those signals by default.
Country Manager & Expansion Agent at StarOfService
October 1, 2015 - February 1, 2017
Led Indonesian market development for a France-based service marketplace. Built and managed a virtual team across SEO, content, customer service, and press operations. Developed and executed the SEO market entry and growth plan for Indonesia.
Project Manager at Lotta Digital
February 1, 2013 - October 1, 2015
Joined when the agency had 3 people. Built it into a 40+ person remote operation. Recruited, onboarded, and managed a virtual team of developers, designers, SEO specialists, and data entry staff across multiple time zones. Built the SOP infrastructure, task management systems, and QA workflows that allowed the founder to focus entirely on growth. Owned client delivery quality end to end — nothing reached the client without passing through my review.
Project Manager at Zuellig Pharma
December 1, 2014 - March 1, 2015
Managing projects for the development of an E-Learning platform and Mobile Apps; Coordinating with the developer, designer, and gathering business requirements.
Marketing Manager at AnchorFree Indonesia
September 1, 2014 - February 1, 2015
Developed and executed the digital marketing strategy for Hotspot Shield's Indonesian market entry; built brand presence within the Indonesian tech community through targeted digital engagement and community outreach.
Lecturer at Telkom University - Telkom Applied Science School
September 1, 2009 - September 1, 2018
Lecturing subjects of Algorithm and Programming, eCommerce Application, Information System; Curriculum and E-Learning development.
Managing Director at 21Clouds - PT Aksama Brewu Berkah
July 1, 2010 - April 1, 2017
Founded and operate a web design and IT development company serving international clients; Maintained five-star Upwork ratings across seven years; Delivered web and IT projects for clients across four continents.
ICT Assistant at United Nations Office for Project Services
October 1, 2007 - October 1, 2008
Creating ICT solutions to be applied in United Nations Offices in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam and Nias Region.
Fault Management at PT Telkom Indonesia
July 1, 2007 - August 1, 2007
Performing technical analysis of fault alarms in a telecom network and dispatching the analysis to the responsible division; managing the progress of the problem handling until it is solved.
Store Supervisor at Quiksilver Indonesia
July 1, 2006 - May 1, 2007
Store operations supervision; led sales staff to achieve store goals.
IT Assistant at Quiksilver Indonesia / Aksama Brewu Berkah
May 1, 2005 - June 1, 2006
Developing Enterprise Resource Planning projects to support Retail and Sales using ACCPAC and SQL Server; creating reports; bridging data between ERP systems.

Education

Master at Hogeschool van Arnhem en Nijmegen
January 1, 2011 - January 1, 2012
Bachelor at Telkom University
June 1, 2000 - March 1, 2005

Qualifications

Netherlands Fellowship Program Scholarship
January 11, 2030 - June 5, 2026
Leadership of Innovation Fellowship - United Kingdom – Royal Academy of Engineering
January 11, 2030 - June 5, 2026
Asia Innovates Awardee - Kuala Lumpur Green Skills Symposium (UNEP, UK Royal Academy of Engineering)
January 11, 2030 - June 5, 2026
The Frontiers Symposium - Bangkok, Thailand
January 11, 2030 - June 5, 2026

Industry Experience

Software & Internet, Media & Entertainment, Education, Professional Services