Wassenaar, South Holland, Netherlands
Coach for Success. Learn to Progress. Eliminate Fear. I believe in winning - by humanizing the business and lifelong learning. This is why I pursue coaching as my leadership style in which I absolutely commit myself to the success of the team. I see my job is constantly reminding people why we are in this business, eliminating the fear of failure and energizing them to go to the extra mile - when I see their eyes shining – I know I do it. ------- & ------- My sofar journey could be perhaps best summarised by my relentless drive for transformational leadership and a deep-seated passion for creating meaningful change. With extensive experience spanning across the FMCG, particularly in Foods & Icecream but also in Personal Care, I have honed my skills in Commercial Business Leadership in GM/CMO capacity, complemented with Digital and Sustainability. My approach to leadership is grounded in inclusivity and a profound commitment to developing people, instilling values and encouraging for progress. I believe that high-performing teams are the cornerstones of any successful organization. By adopting a coaching leadership style, I have been able to foster environments where people feel valued, empowered, and inspired to achieve their best with no fear, which in turn drives the collective success of the team. In all my business roles I have consistently demonstrated a strong combination of strategic and executional prowess together with relevant transformations in Digital/Portfolio and Culture. My international experience has equipped me the ability to navigate complex, multicultural environments - and with relevant cultural sensitivity. Outside of my business roles, I voluntarily served recently as Chair of Advisory Board LEAD Network Digital Chapter living the sweet-spot of my two passions - Digital and Diversity - working towards improving the gender diversity in Digital/IT sector. Also since 2018, I have been voluntarily serving as Member of International Advisory Board of Koc University with my life-long learner attitude and my continued engagement to education. Above all, I believe many would describe me as a people person. Building strong, genuine relationships within the team and with stakeholders is paramount to me. My philosophy is simple: be a good example of the things you believe if life, upholding the values of sincerity, integrity, commitment, and passion in everything I do. My ultimate goal is to make a positive impact, both within the organization and in the wider community, through sustainable and meaningful practices.
Double-hatting as Global Commercial Director for €4.3bln Decorative Painting Business Unit and as Marketing Director for ca €2.5bln Deco EMEA Business – with responsibilities spanning over Commercial Marketing, Product & Innovation Management, Strategic Pricing/NRM, Digital Marketing & Ecommerce. Leading the Future Marketing Transformation by step-changing the Marketing Organization to optimal efficiency/connectivity, embedding future-proof digital/capabilities with Gen(AI) to ensure Deco Business is fit-to-win in all key markets and Marketing is becoming a Growth Function driving sustainable/competitive/profitable growth performance.
Reporting into AkzoNobel Chief Strategy and Development Officer at the AkzoNobel Executive Board, integrated Commercial and Digital Excellence Functions towards driving Growth and Sales/Marketing Effectiveness for all AkzoNobel Business Units, powered by Data/Digital. Reviewed the entire Marketing Organisation of AkzoNobel for optimal marketing organisation effectiveness and accelerated the Digital Commerce from €0.9 bln to €1.5 bln. Led the Commercial Productivity Transformation Programme for Automotive Vehicle Refinish Businesses in North America and Germany, and the Americas Aerospace Business, delivering 15-20% cost effectiveness, stepping up Sales ROI and capability building with relevant online/digital selling solutions.
Led the Unilever's Digital Iconic Programme LEAP (Little Everyday Acts for People & Planet) with the strategic intent of making sustainable choices simple/preferred for consumers, powered by Data/Digital. Developed LEAP with an internal start-up mindset and agile experimentation across UK/FRA/CAN/CH and crafted systemic digital solutions to commercialize sustainability at scale.
Led the Marketing Function across 75 countries where Foodsolutions operates and double-hatting 5 Country Operations with P&L responsibility (Nordics, Turkey, Russia, Israel, Middle East) with a team of 20 direct reports (15 Marketing Directors and 5 Country General Managers) and a total organization ca 600 people. Developed a new purpose/vision and effective recovery plans for the business at the outset of Covid which was recognized in Unilever as Global Runner-Up in Brands with Purpose Award in 2020.
Led the Unilever's Foods Business in NAMETUB Market Cluster (North Africa, Middle East, Russia, Israel, Turkey) with dedicated business teams in all key markets and P&L responsibility. Built a new Foods Team in the Region with changes in most key roles and coached/led the teams to a rapid turn-around where NAMETRUB became the fastest growing market cluster in Savoury and best margin step-up in Dressings in 2017.