Ayesha began her advertising career in 1987, when she joined Abbott, Mead, Vickers, in London as a trainee account planner. She spent the next 10 years working as a planner in London agencies, spending short period at Still, Price Lintas, and Chiat/Day, before returning to AMV.BBDO in 1994 to become a board director, and planner director on Pepsi and Bayer pan-European business, and ICI Dulux global business. In 1997, she transferred to BBDO's Asia Pacific hub in Hong Kong, to take up the position of Regional Director of Strategic Planning. She joined the Bates Asia team in January 2000, as Regional Planning Director.