Neja Flak Brecelj

Strategic Marketing & Growth Partner | Founder of Sherpiful | Helping SMEs & founders clarify positioning, focus marketing and turn growth opportunities into profit | 20+ years in marketing & business strategy

Ljubljana Metropolitan Area

About

Strength does not compensate for the wrong direction. Not in the mountains. Not in business. Teams can work hard. Marketing can be active. Ideas can keep coming. But if the offer is unclear, priorities compete, sales and marketing pull in different directions, and time, money and energy are spent without enough impact. That is where I come in. I help growing businesses identify where they are losing potential in their offer, sales, costs, margins or marketing and turn that insight into clearer priorities, better decisions and stronger results. I look at the whole system: commercial logic, customer journey, positioning, marketing and execution, profitability and the gaps between them. For more than 20 years, I've worked in international business environments across 25+ brands, 7 industries and 100+ projects, leading and connecting marketing strategy, product and category development, customer insight, sales, operations and execution. That experience taught me to distinguish between what sounds good and what makes business sense. Through Sherpiful, I bring that senior perspective to founders, leaders and growing teams that need more clarity, focus and direction but do not necessarily need another full-time hire. I help businesses: - clarify their offer, positioning and key messages - calculate profitability, understand costs and margins, and identify what is worth selling or scaling - connect marketing with sales, margins and business goals - define priorities and a clear 90-day direction - turn scattered activities into a focused system for profitable, sustainable growth I am strategic by nature, analytical in how I work and practical in execution. Sport has shaped how I work: with discipline, pace and respect for the process. The mountains sharpened my ability to read the path, anticipate change and choose the next move with clarity. That is how I work with businesses: Read the terrain. Choose the right route. Move what matters. Clarity. Direction. Progress. If your business is busy but not moving as it should, let’s find where value is being lost and build a clearer path to profitable, sustainable growth. Send me a DM here on LinkedIn or get in touch through sherpiful.com.

Experience

  • Founder & Strategic Marketing and Growth Partner at Sherpiful
    Jul 2026 - Present · 1 mo

  • PONI participant at Regionalna Razvojna Agencija Ljubljanske Urbane Regije
    Mar 2026 - Jun 2026 · 4 mos

  • Skupina Žito (8 yrs 6 mos)
    • Marketing Lead
      Sep 2022 - Jun 2025 · 2 yrs 10 mos

      Marketing lead of Žito bakery categories • Organizing and coordinating of marketing team within Business Unit Bakery and mill • Strategy development of Žito bakery business for domestic and international markets • Engagement in a product cycle from development, launch and performance • Preparation of marketing campaigns, coordination with other marketing departments • Tracking and analysing of sales results, competition, customer, and consumer needs • Identifying new marketing opportunities, assessing risks, and setting sales forecasts and KPIs • Collaboration with different internal departments and the HQ

    • Category Manager
      Jan 2017 - Aug 2022 · 5 yrs 8 mos

      Zlato Polje categories, Žito Flour categories • Development of categories and brand strategies for all markets • Identifying & monitoring marketing mix (4P): product performance, communication strategy, price positioning, USPs identification, distribution) • Development of marketing programs and value added activities focusing on consumer • Monitoring categories objectives (market shares, gross margin, revenues, allocation of marketing investments) • Product portfolio management & monitoring new product launches

  • Atlantic Grupa ()
    • International Brand Operations Manager
      Apr 2016 - Dec 2016 · 9 mos

      Brands: Multipower, Argeta, Donat, Cedevita, Granny’s Secret, Grand Kafa, Štark Markets: Central Europe, Nordics, Asia, Australia, North America, Africa - Ensuring the sales and distribution focus in order to increase sales results and market shares on international markets - Organizing, supervising, coordinating and managing the realization of marketing strategy and objectives for the group of products - Preparation and implementation of annual BTL marketing plan and budget optimization - Monitoring and analyzing competition and brand positioning on the market - Preparing proposals of the campaigns and projects to improve brand awareness and sales of the brands

    • International Brand Manager for Granny's Secret / Bakina Tajna
      Mar 2015 - Apr 2016 · 1 yr 2 mos

      - Development of brand strategy & 4P tactics for existing and new markets - Preparation and monitoring of annual sales plans and marketing investment - Brand positioning by category / market / channel / target group - Leadership of multifunctional team within the company and close collaboration with distribution partners - Setting ATL & BTL activities, defining and controlling marketing investments, cooperation with design and media agencies

  • Colgate Palmolive ()
    • Shopper Marketing Manager (Slovenia - Croatia - Bosnia)
      Jun 2011 - Aug 2014 · 3 yrs 3 mos

      - Brand development: shopper marketing strategies & plans / programs tailored by channel/country/customer - Developing and activating shopper insights & analytics - Category/trade/shopper expertise - Competitive activity understanding & monitoring - Budget responsibility

    • Product Manager (Adria Region)
      Jan 2010 - May 2011 · 1 yr 5 mos

      - New product launch management - Development and implementation of product/category strategy - Maintenance of healthy base business (promo activities, bonus packs, etc) - Competitive activity understanding & monitoring - Conducting 360 degree marketing plan activities - Leading consumer insight development and building expertise in RE, shopper behaviour - Budget responsibility

    • Retail Environment Manager (Adria Region)
      Jul 2008 - Dec 2009 · 1 yr 6 mos

      - Developing and managing channel strategies and 5P tactics by retail environment - Development of trade segmentation and go to market strategy - Leading shopper insight development and application by channel - Promo material management by retail environment - Budget responsibility