Female fashion brand Love, Bonito has promoted its chief operating officer Dione Song to CEO, the first in the 11-year-old company has had one.

Song was hired by Love, Bonito co-founder Rachel Lim in 2018 as the company’s chief commercial officer, eight months after Lim met her at a networking event.

Commenting on Song’s appointment, Lim said “as we celebrate this milestone and look ahead, I also recount how it was (perhaps) serendipity that brought us together”.

“On 17 August 2016, I met Dione at a networking event, and we hit it off instantly,” she recounted. “We went from getting to know each other that day to regularly exchanging ideas about improving the business. Eight months later, we decided to formally join forces to build Love, Bonito.”

According to Lim, Song has since been instrumental in elevating the Love, Bonito brand from startup to scale-up, and from a regional business to a global brand.

Song, who was with Sephora Digital before joining Love, Bonito, heading up the digital marketing for Australia and New Zealand, said she is looking forward to teaming up with people who are wildly passionate about making an impact.

“We know that we’re on the cusp of something great at Love, Bonito,” she said. “We have set out to be the most thoughtful brand for the modern Asian woman, and there’s really no one who’s doing what we’re doing, with our quest for perfection around our community, product and experience.”

Lim said as co-founder, she will still be partnering with Song and actively involved in the day-to-day running of the business, with a focus on design, product assortment and brand marketing.

“I’ll also be spending more time on projects to solidify our connection and engagement with the Love, Bonito community, which has always been one of my passion points,” she added.