Kirstin Kruger

Strategic Marketing Specialist @Mariposa Marketing

Singapore🧮 EducationLecturerAdvisorMarketing Director💸 Marketing💼 C-level ExecutiveCEOCMO🧨 ConsultingBrand Marketing ManagerCommunications Manager

South African born. Living in Asia. Multilinguist. Qualified translator. Brand & Trade marketing specialist. Vast strategic brand development and brand building as well as communication and marketing experience. I have worked for large multi-national businesses, family owned and run businesses, and an ad agency in South Africa, South America and the Middle East. My marketing career scope has spanned: Mass brands to premium brands. Local, regional and global geographies. One brand to complex brand portfolios. Large to small budgets. I am passionate about brands and shaping them into all that they can be as they evolve in an everchanging landscape.

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Work Background

Bio-Oil South AfricaManaging Director (Southern Africa)

Apr. 2021 - Apr. 2024South AfricaBio-Oil is an iconic South African skincare brand that has grown into a global skincare brand with 4 retail ranges and a presence in 130+ markets. Purpose: Steer the business in the most effective and efficient strategic direction by ensuring that it is constantly moving towards fulfilling its short-term and long-term objectives. Business operations: Lead and define the business vision, build business culture, put processes in place, and provide structure/direction to the business and individual teams. Maintain positive, trust-based relations internally, externally and with shareholders. Annual business planning: Lead the annual business audit/strategy & budget planning process and oversee the implementation thereof ensuring that shareholders and stakeholders are updated regularly. Annual strategy execution: Oversee & approve the overall implementation of the business and brand strategy across all pillars of the business (sales, marketing, training, operations) and leading performance updates and reviews internally, externally and with shareholders. Annual budgeting: Lead the development and oversee the management of the annual business operations budget as well as the annual brand A&P budget (making trade-offs on where to invest when applicable) to meet the growth, profitability, margin and cashflow objectives set out in the annual strategic plan. Team leadership: Provide direction & leadership to 10 permanent, 3 contract and 5 temp team members and ensuring that appropriate structures, systems, competencies, and values are in place and practiced to meet business objectives. Empowering teams: Build and manage a diverse group of employees by clarifying the organisational structure as well as individual roles and responsibilities, and leading the development of appropriate frameworks, policies, processes & tools etc. to enable all Evolabs teams and individuals to meet their speciﬁc objectives/targets.

Bio-Oil South AfricaMarketing Director (Southern Africa)

Sep. 2018 - Apr. 2021South AfricaBio-Oil is an iconic South African skincare brand that has grown into a global skincare brand with 4 retail ranges and a presence in 130+ markets. Purpose: Lead the planning & development of the brands long-term vision and marketing strategies & oversee the implementation & execution of the total brand experience across all deﬁned internal & external audiences and touchpoints. Business operations: Actively support the Managing Director in formulating the business vision, building business culture, putting processes in place, and providing structure / direction to the business and individual teams. Annual business planning: Lead the annual business audit/strategy & budget planning process and present the ﬁnal brand marketing & training proposal to the Global Team for approval & implementation. Annual executional strategy: Oversee & approve the overall implementation of all brand marketing, brand training & brand communication by channel as well as the development & delivery of all localised marketing & training assets and toolkits. Annual budgets: Oversee the development and management of the A&P budget as lead by the brand marketing and customer work streams and makes trade-offs on where to invest the spend. Team leadership: Provide direction & leadership to the brand marketing (3 people) & brand training teams (6 people) by ensuring that appropriate structures, systems, competencies, and values are in place and practiced in order to meet business objectives. Empowering teams: Lead the development of appropriate tools, material & presentations etc. to enable all Evolabs teams to meet their speciﬁc objectives/targets

Environ SkincareProfessional Skincare Brand Development Marketing Lead (Global)

Oct. 2014 - Sep. 2018South AfricaEnviron is a globally recognised and loved Professional Skin Care brand that is built on science, beauty and care. The 100+ international awards continue to recognise the brand for outstanding products which is why Environ is favoured by international skin care therapists, the medical fraternity, beauty editors, aestheticians and film stars. 1 global brand, 11 International ranges, 11 African Ranges, 11 Japanese ranges, 1 global in-salon professional range, 140+ products, 70+ markets. Purpose: Lead the strategic development, execution & implementation of Environ’s ﬁrst ever global rebranding strategy, activities associated with brand activities (new product development, promotions etc.) across the 70+ markets where the brand is sold. Annual business planning: Lead the annual global brand and training audit/strategy & budget planning process and present the ﬁnal proposal to the Environ CEO and Senior Directors for approval and implementation. Global brand assets: Manage & oversee the development of the global Environ masterbrand as well as the creation, execution and global rollout of all marketing and communication toolkits to support local in-country distributor teams. Global brand digital assets: Select & work closely with appropriate strategic business partners to create, execute and maintain a brand new global brand digital ecosystem that was both B2B (international distributors and their salons) and B2C (therapists and consumers) facing. Team leadership: Provide direction & leadership to the brand marketing (4 people) & brand training teams (1 person); actively participated in monthly executive (innovation/new product development meetings) and senior management meetings (functional reviews) and managed weekly cross-functional project team timeline meetings.

The Jupiter Drawing Room Cape TownGroup Head of Strategy (Southern Africa)

Oct. 2013 - Oct. 2014South AfricaLeading advertising agency where my client scope included Fast Moving Consumer Goods (Alcohol – Premium Beer, Bushmills Whiskey); Short Term Insurance; Health/Medical Business; Corporates. Purpose: Responsible for the development of insights & strategic plans related to all various brand and communication strategies that help brands to move forward and meet/exceed their project/annual objectives and targets. Creative guidance: Responsible for guiding and supporting the creative teams in their thinking, planning and development of communication campaigns and channels against the Client brief. Business development: Lead the strategic thinking that would drive and support the creative teams when the agency was presented with new client opportunities/pitches.

UnileverSenior Skin Cleansing Brand Development Marketing Manager (Regional)

Oct. 2011 - Feb. 2013South AfricaGlobal Fast-Moving Consumer Goods company. My scope included 1 portfolio (Skin Cleansing), 8 brands, across Africa. Purpose: Support the Regional Category Director in the development and execution of the Skin Cleansing portfolio across key African markets (speciﬁcally South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya). Portfolio management: Lead market development initiatives for Africa skin cleansing, lead all brand development initiatives for the beauty platform, manage the masterbrand plans for Lux and Dove across Africa from a communication and product portfolio perspective. Formulate 12- 18 quarter rolling brand plans based on speciﬁc in market needs and relevant global brand assets (i.e. brands, products, communication) and managing their implementation through the stage gate process. Communication toolkits: Lead the development and or adaptation of global integrated communication toolkits to meet in-market team needs. Team leadership: Provide direction & leadership to the brand managers (2 people) & assistants (3 people); manage and maintain key relationships with internal stakeholders across all levels (i.e. global, regional and local brand teams), cross-functional teams (i.e. consumer & market insight, ﬁnance, R&D, procurement, supply chain etc.) and external partners (i.e. research agencies, advertising agencies etc.)

UnileverSkin Cleansing Brand Development Manager (Regional)

Sep. 2009 - Oct. 2011Dubai, U.A.E.Global Fast-Moving Consumer Goods company. My scope included Skincare and then Skin Cleansing, 3-5 brands, across Africa, Middle East, Turkey (AMET).

Unilever Skincare Brand Development Manager (Regional)

Jun. 2006 - Sep. 2009Dubai, U.A.E.Global Fast-Moving Consumer Goods company. My scope included Skincare, 1 brand, across Africa, Middle East, Turkey (AMET).

UnileverAssistant Brand Manager Local Jewels (South Africa)

Mar. 2005 - May. 2006South AfricaGlobal Fast-Moving Consumer Goods company. My scope included Skincare and Skin Cleansing, 3 local brands, across South Africa.