Your Future in Sales & Marketing

In this episode,  our guest is Hanna Fold, Sales Director for Unilever’s Food and Refreshment business. If you’re feeling a little tired as we come to the end of a long year, Hanna’s energy will give you the boost you need to get across the line. And, for the many who are targeting 2022 as a career transition year, she gives some very practical advice about how to show up and impress in an interview. 

In this episode,  Mike talks with Victoria Baker about how she transitioned from a successful career in FMCG to leading brand development for the bathrooms and kitchen business, GWA Group. 

They chat about the role marketing should play in an Executive team, how marketers can work effectively with sales, the immense value of being in front of customers and how much you can learn from being asked to present to the Board. With help towards the end of the podcast from her incredibly cute French Bulldogs, she also shares the best NPD she's been involved with and tips on how to create time for creative thinking.

In this episode Mike chats with Chris Shaw, Sales Director of Diageo and Chair of the Drinks Association Embrace Difference Council. They have a great conversation about Chris’ career to date and he shares advice to aspiring Sales Directors on the L&D and breadth of experience necessary for the role.  Chris also shares his thoughts on start ups and  talks candidly about the importance of diversity both in the sales function and the drinks industry. 

In this episode, Mike gets the inside scoop as he chats with Gerard Smith, the Global CMO of Freedom Foods, soon to be called Noumi (subject to shareholder ratification).  Aside from learning the potential new name for Freedom Foods, they discuss how much Gerard learned from his time leading marketing and CX for TAFE  and how leaving FMCG and working overseas could be enhancing for your career and leadership; the dynamics of the relationship between CMO and CEO and what role marketing plays on the ELT. 

In this bonus episode, Mike chats to Rich Curtis, CEO of FutureBrand Australia, a leading branding agency.  

Rich’s career has seen him plot a path from London to Australia and Bangkok, working for some of the world’s most highly regarded marketing agencies.  He took the bold decision to buy FutureBrand Australia from InterPublic Group in 2020, completing the transaction when COVID was raging across the world and the majority of his team, based in Melbourne, were facing a 112-day lockdown.  Rich discusses how their business and teams already had a competitive advantage to continue to thrive in a virtual environment.  He also shares insights and advice from his role as an agency CEO on what makes a great relationship between agency & client and what the future looks like for marketing and Future Brand Australia.

This week we have double trouble with two Sales Directors,  Dave Tuffin and Craig Wagner from Blackmores. 

Navigating some tricky technical problems mid-episode,  Craig and Dave don’t miss a beat! They share with Mike their best career advice, their toughest career decisions and some superb insights on taking the step up to being a Sales Director including the 3 key traits of a great Sales Director; the range of soft skills you need to develop to be effective in the role, as well as, what impresses them in an interview.

In this episode, Mike chats with Tamara Howe, a marketer whose 18-year career with Kellogg’s has given her global experience as a Marketing Director in the US and Australia to GM of New Zealand. 

She talks about how important it is to keep challenging yourself and how learning and development never stops, not matter how senior you are in a business.  She also speaks candidly about becoming a General Manager. The opportunities and challenges you face leading a business when you come from a Marketing background, and how you need to ensure that you are seen as more than just the 'colouring department', especially if you want to become a CEO.

In this episode, Mike chats with Cheryl Hayman, a professional Non-Executive Director or NED. Before embarking on her NED Career, Cheryl was a marketer working in FMCG and QSR, holding senior roles and leading functions for Unilever, Yum! George Weston Foods. They discuss the transition from working in a business to being part of a Board. What does the role actually entail? What happens at board meetings, what are measures of success and risks involved? How do you land a NED role and at what stage in your career should someone get board exposure?  She also discusses her thoughts on diversity and innovation for boards and businesses in the future.

As a Non-Executive Director, Cheryl's board portfolio of organisations includes Beston Global Food Company, Shriro Australia, HGL, Chartered Accounts ANZ, the Darlinghurst Theatre Company and Peer Support Australia.  She’s also a mentor for The Marketing Academy and a member of the Board of Advisors for the federal government’s Digital Technology Taskforce.

In this episode, Mike meets with Kristy Ryan, Commercial Director of William Grant & Sons. Kristy is one of the few female sales directors in liquor and talks candidly about how much the industry is evolving, but just how far diversity still has to go. 

She shares great insights into the role of a Sales Director and what's really involved in taking the step up to the role and leading a team, she also explains what a "triple win" means and gives some very practical tips on exactly how and when you should start a conversation about reviewing your salary.

In this episode, Mike chats with Michael Roe, Sales Director of Selley’s part of the Dulux Group. Michael is a career marketer who made the move from Marketing Director to Sales Director when working with Johnson & Johnson. He talks candidly about the unique perspective that gives him, both in customer Top to tops and around the board table. He also discussed the opportunities and challenges of making the move from marketing to sales (or vice versa) and his advice on how the two functions could collaborate better with customers.