Patric Sawada · Founder, Silkdrive · Amsterdam, NLPatric Sawada
澤田 · Interim Head of Growth · Growth Advisor · Fractional CMO. Founder of Silkdrive. European and East-Asian companies have hired me for 12+ years to grow across borders. I embed with your team as a trusted advisor, auditing, strategising, and driving measurable growth.
Amsterdam, Netherlands · Remote & on-site · Scale-ups to enterprise
How I Work
I embed with your marketing team as an independent growth advisor. I audit your channels, manage agency relationships, run technical deep-dives, and keep everyone accountable, without competing with your team or pushing my own services.
Independent Perspective
As an outsider, I can raise difficult topics and challenge assumptions without internal politics.
Broad & Deep Expertise
From SEO to paid media to content strategy, I go deep on every channel while maintaining the full-funnel growth view.
Research-Driven
I research, deep-dive, discuss and advise to move the needle. Implementation is delegated to your team or agencies.
Cross-Cultural Intelligence
Built on 12+ years of international projects with international teams, foundational research into cross-cultural marketing (Hofstede, de Mooij, 100+ studies), and the ADAPT framework that came out of it, applied in campaigns and training across Europe and East Asia.
The ADAPT Culture Framework
We developed the ADAPT framework to systematically adapt marketing assets, copy, ads, and creative, for different cultures. Grounded in cross-cultural research (Hofstede, de Mooij, and 100+ scientific papers on culture & advertising), ADAPT ensures campaigns resonate authentically in every target market.
Analysis
Cultural research and market context analysis
Data Points
Identify key data points in baseline assets and campaigns
Asset Localisation
Adapt content, copy, and visuals for the local culture
Persuasive Arguments
Align with local buyer motives and cultural values
Test
Validate with A/B testing and consumer research
Each step is backed by scientific research and validated through rapid experimentation.
Work With Me
Two ways companies engage me. Each has its own page with scope, pricing, and results.
Fractional CMO / Interim Head of Growth
Part-time growth leadership, 1-3 days per week: strategy, agency management, experimentation, and pipeline reporting. Published pricing, engagement shapes, and case studies live on the service page.
How I work with companiesCross-Cultural Training & Japan Market Entry
Workshops and webinars on Japanese business culture and EU-Japan market entry, delivered with co-trainer Takashi Kawatani and through the EU-Japan Centre programme.
Browse the training programmesBackground
I married into a Japanese family (澤田), which gave me a perspective on Japan-Europe business that most consultants read about in textbooks. That firsthand experience shapes everything I do, from how I approach market entry to how I read the subtleties of business relationships across Europe and East Asia.
I started my career in 2014 as a marketing manager at Ciber, an international IT firm, working on the Netherlands market. In 2015 I founded Silkdrive, and have since led growth marketing for 50+ clients across 30+ industries in European, East Asian, and South-East Asian markets. One engagement shaped how I work more than any other: two years as the external growth advisor to a Belgian telecom's marketing team, reporting to the COO, advising on strategy, experiments, systems, and channel tactics, and keeping their performance agency accountable through a weekly report.
I trained in growth hacking at Growth Tribe (2016, with advanced programmes in 2019) and hold a post-graduate BSc in Digital & Online Marketing from Beeckestijn Business School (2015), the experimentation-driven approach I still apply to every engagement. I've written on cross-cultural marketing and digital privacy for outlets including Frankwatching, Hackernoon, and Eurobiz magazine (the EU Chamber of Commerce in China), where I covered China's PIPL privacy law and its implications for European businesses.
As an external expert for the EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation, I regularly speak at webinars helping European companies understand the Japanese market. Through their Market Access programme I delivered the “Cross-Cultural Growth Marketing for Japan” webinar to Polish and Czech SMEs in June 2025 and to Swedish SMEs in September 2025. I founded Silkdrive to bring together everything I'd learned, combining growth marketing expertise with genuine cross-cultural intelligence to help companies expand internationally with confidence.
Geographic Expertise
Deep market knowledge and cultural insights across key regions for international expansion.
Europe
East Asia
Credentials & Experience
Recognized expertise and proven track record in international growth and cross-cultural marketing.
Founder & Head of Growth
Silkdrive
International growth marketing with cross-cultural localisation for European, East-Asian, and South-East Asian markets. 50+ clients in 30+ industries, from multinationals to start-ups; managed and trained teams of 1 to 10.
Head of Growth
vibecoding.app
Directory and content platform for AI-assisted development: vibe coding tools, agencies, and events, plus weekly reviews and workflow playbooks.
Expert & Speaker
EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation
Market Access workshop “Cross-cultural Growth Marketing & Advertising for the Japanese Market”: market entry strategies, customer acquisition and retention, cross-cultural marketing. Custom sessions for participants in Sweden, Poland, and Romania.
Interim Growth Marketer & External Advisor
Yoin (Belgium)
Audited and advised on online marketing, holding the external performance agency to performance, structure, and accountability. Advised on budgets, campaigns, channels, experimentation, and SEO; led consent mode and server-side tagging implementation.
Growth Marketer
K.K. Orchard (Taiwan)
Two-year initiative introducing a Taiwanese frozen-food producer to 13 European markets: campaigns in 13 languages across Google, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn Ads. Secured retail partnerships in 3 countries and placement in 4 major retail chains.
Head of Growth
Second Company
Growth marketing, experimentation, and lead generation for clients including cpe.nl, bestetherapeut.nl, and brockmeyer.com.
SEO Specialist & Growth Hacker
Ematters & DEA.Amsterdam
Freelance SEO and growth work on 19 client accounts, including Opel and DSM: technical audits, keyword research, on-page optimisation, link building, training, and conversion advice.
Growth Hacker
Aimforthemoon
Lean-startup validation and lead generation for the corporate startup teams of Nationale Nederlanden (powerly.nl) and Baas BV (ev-ready.info).
Head of Growth
Dutch Auction B.V.
Led growth for a B2B/B2C auction marketplace: +1,500 new user accounts and +20 business partnerships in 3 months.
Interim Webshop Manager
Stichting Nederland Schoon
Managed and optimised the organisation's webshop and product ordering (China/Netherlands), renegotiated contracts, and advised on digital marketing across 4 additional websites.
Interim Marketing & Front-End Web Specialist
Exact
Managed 12 localised websites across Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Americas; achieved +144% lead generation through A/B-tested redesign.
Marketing Manager
Ciber (international IT firm)
Marketing strategy and execution for the Netherlands: cross-channel lead-generation campaigns for 15+ services, a €250K budget, and partner work with SAP and Microsoft.
Growth Tribe Alumni
Growth Tribe Academy
Growth hacking (2016) and advanced experimentation programmes (2019). The experimentation-driven methodology I still apply to every engagement.
Post-graduate BSc, Digital & Online Marketing
Beeckestijn Business School
Post-graduate Bachelor of Science in Digital & Online Marketing.
Marketing Writer
Frankwatching, Hackernoon, Eurobiz
Articles on cross-cultural marketing and digital privacy, including China's PIPL law in Eurobiz magazine (EU Chamber of Commerce in China).
What Clients Say
“Are you looking for an interimmer who can make a difference in a short period of time? […] integrated smoothly in the team, being pro-active and delivering much more than expected. Patric [Sawada] is data-driven […] and a strong advisor.”
“[…] his knowledge, skill, and data-driven approach […] his results with Linkedin (one of the hardest marketing channels to use out there) are absolutely staggering!”
“Patric [Sawada] enables us to exceed the goals of our LinkedIn Ad campaigns. He skillfully oversees the entire process of implementing, executing and monitoring campaigns […] extensive knowledge of tooling and data-driven work.”
Want to Work Together?
The fastest route is a direct call with me. Or read how a fractional engagement works, including published pricing, first.