Alexander de Ruwe

Global Head of Media

Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands

About

Alex de Ruwe is a senior media and marketing executive with over two decades of experience building and leading world-class media organisations — renowned for an inspirational, people-first leadership style that brings out the best in individuals and teams. Over the past seven years, Alex has led and scaled a Global Media Office within Private Equity-backed environments — first at Upfield (formerly Unilever), and now as Global Head of Media at Versuni, home to the iconic Philips brand for domestic appliances. Thriving in fast-moving, performance-driven organisations, he leads a high‑velocity team that unifies cross‑functional entities to drive scale, efficiency, and measurable business outcomes across both mature and emerging markets. Earlier in his career, Alex held executive roles at WPP, Omnicom, and Havas, developing integrated strategies and award‑winning campaigns for global brands including Philips, Sony, Liberty Global, and Unilever. He combines a sharp analytical, business-focused mindset with deep expertise in media strategy, omnichannel planning, and martech — making him highly fluent in the ever-evolving global media landscape. Recognised as a thought leader in media, Alex is an active contributor to the WFA and WARC agendas, driving industry-wide solutions for the broader media community with an increasing focus on marcom-related AI-driven transformation.

Experience

  • Versuni (Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands)
    • Global Head of Media
      Jan 2023 - Present · 3 yrs 6 mos

    • Global Media and Marketing Strategy Director
      Jan 2022 - Dec 2022 · 1 yr

  • Upfield (2 yrs 10 mos)
    • Global Lead Media
      Jan 2019 - Jun 2021 · 2 yrs 6 mos

    • Media & digital manager SWE
      Sep 2018 - Jan 2019 · 5 mos

  • Communication Director at Havas Media Nederland
    Oct 2016 - Jul 2018 · 1 yr 10 mos

  • OMD Nederland (Amsterdam Area, Netherlands)
    • Communication Director
      Jan 2015 - Sep 2016 · 1 yr 9 mos

    • Digital Director
      Jan 2012 - Dec 2014 · 3 yrs

  • Mindshare (5 yrs 7 mos)
    • Digital Manager
      Jul 2008 - Dec 2011 · 3 yrs 6 mos

    • Digital planner
      Jun 2006 - Jul 2008 · 2 yrs 2 mos