Matt Britton’s Post

The Investor Version of the Oscars: CAGNY for Competitor Intelligence: Just as the film industry celebrated the Oscars in Hollywood last Sunday, 3 weeks ago, the global consumer products investor community convened in Florida for the highly anticipated annual Consumer Advisory Group of New York (CAGNY) event. Unlike traditional financial updates, CAGNY offers a unique peek into companies' future strategies and growth plans. Gain valuable foresight into major consumer products companies' priorities and emerging market trends to elevate your competitive edge. Stay ahead of the curve by integrating CAGNY insights into your strategic playbook! Our top 5 nominations for interesting insights and perspectives from the Cagny conference: 1)       New contenders on the block: Cagny welcomed Molson Coors, Pernod Ricard and e.l.f. to the podium to present their plans to this forum for the first time 2)       Re-bound in innovation focus: Post covid and after the disruption of the inflationary cycle, manufacturers are doubling down on their innovation efforts. L’Oreal, ConAgra, 3)       Core growth and penetration expansion is still important. J.M Smucker, ConAgra and Nomad all called out the important role of building momentum with their core ranges and reaching new consumers. Exiting or de-prioritising non core activity allows a focus on accelerating core. Kraft Heinz, Molson Coors 4)       Digitalization is beyond marketing: Leveraging technology across the organization including the supply chain and shared service opportunities allows greater insight, efficiency and flexibility. Nomad, Mondalez 5)       Acceleration in personalized and targeted consumer communication. Almost all companies brought to life the changes in the marketing environment to better target and leverage AI to optimise delivery and tracking of marketing investment. McCormick, Kellanova, Colgate-Palmolive, ConAgra Cagny illuminates strategic intentions, but it does not address the competitive advantage of execution. By conducting scenario planning workshops focused on specific areas, your business could potentially stay ahead in terms of preparing to defend against or capitalize on opportunities before the competition. At Ignition Strategy, we firmly believe that competitive insight can enhance your strategic approach. Please don't hesitate to contact us to discuss any challenges you may be encountering, and we would be delighted to provide our perspective. #competitoradvantage #cagny #strategicplanning #competitorinsight

🚀 Embrace Constructive Disruption with P&G: A Conversation with our CEO Jon Moeller 🚀 Discover how P&G cultivates a growth mindset that fuels constructive disruption within its workforce. In this interview, Jon Moeller discusses the power of continuous learning and change at the individual level. P&G's transformation journey continues! Join us to uncover what's next for the company as Jon Moeller reveals P&G’s approach to staying responsive in a rapidly changing world. #PandGInnovation #GrowthMindset #BusinessTransformation #GlobalProductStewardship #RegulatoryIntelligence

Share, speed and scale - that’s the game for global brands. Earlier this summer at Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, I joined some of Chicago’s biggest names in the business – Vivek Mohan, Divisional VP, Global Corporate Marketing, Abbott; Jennifer Murillo, SVP and CMO, Discover Financial Services; Anuj Bhasin, Chief Brand Officer, PepsiCo’s Gatorade; and Erwin Dito, VP Global Brand Leadership, McDonald's, for an insightful session at the Omnicom Cove. We explored the challenges and opportunities facing the industry today and discussed a range of topics including Innovation and AI, the power of a brand and creative excellence. I believe we are on the verge of the golden era of creativity and we have to do a lot of navigation to get to the right outcomes. It’s a very exciting time and Chicago seems to be a marketing powerhouse right now.  More about Chicago’s strength in the industry and if you’re interested in hearing more, watch the entire panel here: https://lnkd.in/gW9wnFDb Thank you Vivek, Jennifer, Anuj and Erwin for joining me. #Chicago #marketing #brand #brandexperience #disruption #technology #innovation #AI #culture #advertising #partnerships #CannesLions2023 #tbwa #thedisruptioncompany

In a lot of ways, 2023 has been defined by recurring conversations about the "evolving" role of the CMO and its continued relevance. My opinion? The more things change, the more they stay the same. If anything, there's been an evolution in everyone else's understanding of, (and if they're smart, deference to) The essential ways effective CMOs create, steward, and reinvent the kind of sustainable competitive advantage that can't easily be replicated. If the rest of the c-suite has learned anything from this year's biggest stories, it ought to be that great collections of products don't become and/or remain category-leading brands without a savvy marketer at the helm, whatever you decide to title them. (Chief Commercial Officer? Head of Marketing? Anything goes 😉. Take your pick!) In a way nothing else accomplishes quite as consistently, the right marketers and marketing create an alchemy that deftly combines the best of art and science, and those who do it best don't shy away from either. I recently had the pleasure of expounding on my thoughts with Bailey Calfee and Campaign US. You can read more here: https://lnkd.in/grAQZCmx (PS I also had the pleasure of attending the fabulous 1-day AdweekX conference last week during which this came up a number of times...more on that to come!) #cmos #evolution #marketing #leadership #2023trends #responsiblemarketing

Chief marketing officers play a critical role in driving business growth and governance. However, to maximize impact, CMOs must step outside their functional silos and actively engage their boards. As shared in a recent article from our knowledge partner WARC, this question of how CMOs should and could better engage with their boards is an essential one for any organisation wanting to be successful. Getting this CMO-board dynamic right is essential for any organisation wanting to be successful. By coming together to share perspectives, we as a community can help guide marketing leaders to lead well and drive both business and societal value. What would you add on how CMOs can step up their board engagement? ☕ Come and discuss in The Marketing Society CoffeeHouse, our members-only community. WARC subscribers can read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/dySQN8-R? #LeadingTheConversation #Marketing #CMOs. Richard Robinson🔥, Sophie Devonshire⚡️

Constellation Brands strengthen executive team in major restructure. President and CEO, Bill Newlands, commented: “One of the hallmarks of our company’s success over many years has been our relentless focus on continuing to find ways to position Constellation Brands for sustained and industry-leading performance.” “These new leadership appointments will help equip our rising leaders with the perspective and capabilities needed to keep our company on the forefront of emerging consumer and marketplace trends, and they exemplify the deep bench strength of talent we have across the organisation to continue driving our business forward.” The new leadership appointments include: Mallika Monteiro - EVP, Chief Growth & Digital Officer and Managing Director, Beer Brands. Matt Lindsay - SVP, Chief Marketing Officer - Beer Division Greg Gallagher - SVP Brand Marketing Rene Ramos - SVP, Brand Activation John Kester - SVP, Chief Supply Chain Officer, Beer Andrew Zrike - SVP, Innovation & Consumer Insights Karena Breslin, NACD.DC - SVP, Digital, Transformation, & Media Michael McGrew - EVP, Chief Communications, Strategy, ESG and Diversity Officer Michael Becka - SVP, Corporate Finance Sandy Dominach - SVP, Beer Finance Joseph Suarez - SVP, Investor Relations Steve King - SVP, Corporate Development, Financial Planning, & Analytics. Speaking on the appointments, Newlands added: “While we’ve had tremendous success over the years, I believe we’re only scratching the surface and the best is yet to come”. #ConstellationBrands #Drinks #Executive #Leadership #Finance #Marketing #Operations #Commercial #HR

Prior to executive search, I spent almost 25 years in management consulting (Bain & Co., Accenture, and Kurt Salmon) and had the privilege of working alongside some outstanding consulting colleagues, many of whom have since left consulting to pursue executive roles. As we start 2024, I want to recognize my former colleagues (apologies to any I missed!) who are now thriving in senior leadership roles across the Retail, Consumer, Finance, and Private Equity sectors – I feel fortunate to call each of them friends. Jon Andersen, CFA, Partner, William Blair Kevin Brown, EVP CMO, Sleep Number Corp. Ashley Buchanan, CEO, Michaels Stores Inc. Dale Christensen, EVP Pro Strategy & Sales, Behr Paint Company Ross Clements, VP Corp Strategy, Memorial Hermann Health System George Coleman, frmr SVP of Mdsg, CVS Health Troy Conover, VP Mdse Strategy & Op Excellence, Foot Locker Kimberly Cray, VP Order Mgmt, Ross Stores, Inc. Diane Ellis, frmr Brand President, Chico's FAS, Inc. Andrea Farris, SVP Chief Digital & Product Officer, DISH Network Marisa Femenia, MD, Bain Capital Lori Flees, President & CEO, Valvoline Inc. Perry Gragg, President, RC Trailers / SVP & GM, Trailer World Matt Hively, Op Partner, Angeles Equity Partners, LLC Joanne Hsieh, CEO & Board Director, Astral Health & Beauty Jamie Hyatt, Sr Dir. MP&A Prod Mgmt, Five Below Herb Kleinberger, Operating Advisor, Staley Capital Michael (Mike) Kobayashi, President & Chief Capability Officer, Ross Stores, Inc. Hiromi Kurata, CEO, The Body Shop Japan Nancy Lee, Board Director, Habitat for Humanity Portland Region & frmr Sr. Dir. Global Retail Excellence Capabilities, NIKE Alison Levy, SVP Product Sourcing & Services, Ross Stores, Inc. Alden Lury, SVP Planning Strategy & Operations, Ross Stores, Inc. Aaron Miller, Partner, Apollo Global Management Inc. Dennis Mullahy, fmr CSCO, Macy's Inc. Thomas Murnane, Board Director, Blain's Farm & Fleet & Board Director, Co-Chair of Governance and Nominating Committee, Goodwill Southern California Drew Pinto, EVP & Chief Revenue & Technology Officer, Marriott International David Rabkin, EVP Head of Business Cards & Payments, Capital One Jessica Roberti, VP Product Development & Supply Chain, Alo Yoga John Rodgers, Dr. of Amazon Flex Driver Experience, Amazon Brian Rook, CTO, Suntex Marinas Rebecca Rudisch, Founder, CEO & Board Member, Yummers Julie (Donaldson) Sailers, Dr. Int'l Partner Mgmt, Carter's Inc. João Pedro S., Head of Strategy & Growth, NCS Donald Shields, Business Architect & Design Lead, Lloyds Banking Grp Todd Soller, Chief Supply Chain Officer, Patagonia Karalyn Smith, Chief Talent Officer, Williams-Sonoma, Inc. Melissa Deutsch Stein, Owner, Stan Deutsch Associates Derek Tarlecki, President, Low Tide Brian Tilzer, Chief Digital, Analytics & Technology Officer, Best Buy Inc. Sean Whitehouse, Chief Supply Chain Officer, DICK'S Steve Olsen, President, The Aaron's Company David Wolkoff, VP Digital Strategy, JCPenney Arthur Zambelli, CEO, Chemical Guys

Board Directors have a more significant role in setting company strategy and identifying risks to that strategy. I have seen a few Boards that are not good at advising the management. It is time not to follow the “nose-in and fingers-out” mantra due to rapid change and uncertainty. I like Roz Brewer’s take on moving deeper into healthcare and the acquisition strategy instead of the partnership model. Value migrates if you are not nimble. Dennis Carey #CEO #boardofdirectors #boardroom #boardgovernance

A quick summation of takeaways from our discussion at the recent The Consumer Goods Forum Global Summit moderated by Sarah Van Dyck of Egon Zehnder I have always felt that results are the outcome of the actions and beliefs of the team. And our beliefs are shaped by our experiences. We take risks because we’ve experienced positive outcomes from doing so that built confidence, courage and belief in “the possibilities”. Our role as a leader is to provide the vision and the freedom to innovate and execute inside a framework…to create moments for our teams to experience what’s possible thru ideation, innovation, initiative and execution. But unlocking the full potential of the team and the organization means we must be able to flex between when to lead and when to follow. “Above all, be a leader who can lead but also follow…What a privilege and inspiring call to action.” #leadership The Hain Celestial Group

I wanted to pass along 5 insights learned from top CPG experts and veterans as investors & board members that were responsible for multi-billion dollar companies and/or exits. Some of these I learned the hard way or from trial by fire. 1) Track growth of category and your share within the category to understand if you are playing in the right categories and are you gaining share. Example 100% share might be insane growth but if the category is growing 200% you are falling behind or in contrast you are growing by 25% but the category is declining it’s good that you are gaining share but it may raise question is it worth investing in that category. 2) Don’t celebrate sell in. Celebrate sell through. Obsess on velocity over points of distribution. Focus on getting in the top 25% quartile to lock your position on the shelf. 3) Earn your right to innovate. We got in a hurry to throw stuff on the shelf that some times worked against us. You dilute your concentration of your hero and you may risk losing all of your positions if you force growth prematurely. Like previous point drive incremental value and the partners will be asking for more! 4) Don’t be afraid to say no. Have strong convictions on when you do or don’t have an unfair advantage to win in the top quartile. Keep the relationships warm and professional. 5) Always allude to a higher power whether that’s the CFO, the board, or investors even if you have the ability to make the call. That way you can play the role of the good guy and unpack what makes the deal work for them. What are some insights that have helped you over the years?