Marco Vario, PhD

Group Head of Strategy & Business Transformation in Luxury & Beauty

Zürich Metropolitan Area

About

Member of the Management Team and Head of Strategy & Business Transformation at Lalique Group, I partner closely with the Group CEO to define strategic priorities and drive their execution across luxury, beauty, and hospitality. My work spans the full strategy-to-execution arc: owning the group's planning cycle (5-year plan, annual review), steering enterprise-wide transformation, and preparing Board of Directors materials, while keeping the organization aligned across business units and subsidiaries. I am known for building trust and alignment with senior stakeholders quickly, combining strong critical and analytical thinking, with the ability to make things happen in complex, international environments. Fluent in French, English, and German.

Experience

  • Lalique Group SA ()
    • Group Head of Strategy & Business Transformation
      Jun 2024 - Present · 2 yrs 2 mos

      Strategic partner to the Group CEO across Lalique Group's three business units — Lalique Brand, Lalique Beauty, and Hospitality — with operations spanning Europe, Asia, and the US. I lead the 5-year strategic planning cycle, drive enterprise-wide transformation initiatives, and prepare Board-level materials, while steering the group's digital and organizational change agenda.

    • Senior Manager, Strategic Marketing & Digital
      Jun 2022 - May 2024 · 2 yrs

      - Shaped the customer experience and data strategy for the Lalique Brand. - Developed the B2C customer segmentation for the Lalique Brand - Co-led the rebranding of the Lalique Brand and led workshops with senior executives and colleagues - Drove digital innovation initiatives at the intersection of luxury and emerging technology, including blockchain digital product passports, NFTs, and immersive retail experiences.

  • Guest Lecturer at ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences
    Apr 2024 - Present · 2 yrs 4 mos

    Elective Luxury: Lecture on Digitalization and Marketing in the Luxury World

  • Institute for Marketing and Customer Insight | IMC-HSG (4 yrs 3 mos)
    • Director of the Executive Education Programs "CAS Sales Management" & "DAS Sales Executive HSG"
      Aug 2021 - May 2022 · 10 mos

      Co-designed and directed a sales management program for senior executives at one of Europe's leading business schools, from curriculum development and faculty recruitment to coaching participants through applied group projects.

    • Research & Project Manager
      Mar 2018 - May 2022 · 4 yrs 3 mos

      - Led and conducted consulting projects commissioned by companies in various industries (pharmaceuticals, FMCG, and finance) and delivered market insights and strategic recommendations to senior management - Conducted research in strategic marketing and consumer behavior - Organized conferences (up to 200 guests) and workshops PhD thesis — Research on marketing agility - Development of a framework that enables senior managers to develop agility — that is, to sense new market and innovation opportunities in rapidly changing markets and to respond to them quickly and flexibly so as to create added value for customers. The findings are based on in-depth interviews with senior managers within numerous companies across different industries in Switzerland.

  • Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) Capital Markets Specialist at UBS
    Nov 2013 - Jan 2018 · 4 yrs 3 mos

    - Managed a European network of distribution partners with investment banks and trading firms, overseeing product allocation, onboarding new partners, and conducting business reviews - Advised our clients and trained our sales team in Europe and Asia on specific features of our products - Performed large-scale data analysis and built tools on Excel VBA

  • Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) Product Specialist & Marketing at Credit Suisse
    Mar 2012 - Aug 2012 · 6 mos

    - Supported sales and marketing efforts to acquire new clients in Switzerland - Conducted analyses and presentations on the ETF market