Henry Wong

It all started in the back of a Chinese restaurant

Henry Wong is the President and Brand Strategist of Vyoo, a branding and content company he founded that focuses on impact companies. The consultancy small upstarts and SMEs to 500-level companies tell their brand story.

Henry’s roots span over 25 years in the advertising and branding industry including being Executive VP, Creative Director for the global ad agency, Saatchi & Saatchi. His industry recognition includes awards from Creativity, Clio, and Marketing among others.

He is the author of the recently published book, Telling Your Story, Building Your Brand, a book on personal branding for business leaders, entrepreneurs, and people just looking to advance their careers.

Topic: Being CEO of Your Own Brand

Today, everything and everyone is a brand. People in business and careers recognize they have to work on their brand but seldom know how to achieve it. Just becoming known or gathering social media followers is not enough. Standing for something is everything. And a personal brand not only provides a competitive advantage but adds a premium to your value.

This keynote centres on how to build a personal brand through the use of story. It’s an overview of Henry’s best practices that builds from his book, Telling Your Story. Building Your Brand. A workshop portion also allows the participants to work through the steps together. 


Topic: What 60 Million Wongs Can Teach Us About Community

Did you know there are over 60 million Wongs in the world? But it’s more than a surname run amok. It’s a family clan united by a common ancestry and experience that has led to the creation of “clubhouses” throughout North America. What started as a solution to assisting new immigrants facing impossible odds in a country during a challenging and racist period of history (Chinese Head Tax and Exclusion Act) also lead to compassionate mandates of kindness, benevolence and charity. Through a common bond, Wongs created family associations. Within organized collectives, they provided refuge, guidance, translation as well loans to those who came to a new world with little other than a desire for a better life. The contributions to society have led to recognition by the Canadian Heraldic Authority through the creation of an official coat of arms, and by Heritage Toronto with a historic plaque acknowledging the milestones and contributions of the Wongs.

The organization, the Wong Association, is today a family foundation of which Henry Wong sits as director. Drawing from stories from the history of Wongs in North America, he shares insights into how commitment and selflessness can help companies and organizations improve their purpose and mission, how a community is more a state of mind, what’s needed to create a group bond, and the importance of honouring those who came before us. It’s an inspiring talk on perseverance, forgiveness and charity.

Topic: Be a more successful leader. Mentor.

It seems being a Yoda makes one a better leader. Studies show that mentors are six times more likely to be promoted than managers and employees who don’t mentor.

This is just the beginning. While people tend to view mentorship as a way to help and guide the less experienced, the benefits to those in a leadership role are more significant. Studies show that those who mentor ascend the leadership ladder faster.

This keynote offers insights from Henry’s 30 years of being on both sides of the mentoring fence. In his talk, he covers how mentoring can improve one’s own practical skills and create a sure-footedness in one’s leadership. Henry outlines how reverse mentoring can be used to a leader’s own benefit and why it’s important to mentor for the benefit of the greater good.

What other pros say

Here's the story on Telling Your Story: A simple and effective guide to branding that's easy to understand and easy to apply. Behind every great brand is a story. Behind every great story is this book. The journey starts here. Enjoy it. I know I did.

Ron Tite

Author, Think Do Say

Personal branding can either feel murky or dismissed as simplistic. But in the middle lays the magic. Henry Wong is your sherpa through that magical middle earth.

Terry O’Reilly

Host of Under The Influence, CBC Radio One

Telling Your Story. Building Your Brand can be found at the following retailers

  • Barnes and Noble
  • Target
  • Indigo
  • Amazon CA
  • Amazon US
  • Walmart
  • Rakuten Kobo