Chief Marketing Officer/VP Marketing

The Chief Marketing Officer for Southern Africa is an enterprise growth leader who defines the long-term vision for brands and categories, accelerates demand, and builds world-class, future-fit marketing capabilities, anchored in the Operating Unit of the Future (OUOTF) ambition and One PepsiCo ways of working. This role blends big-picture vision with hands-on leadership, combining multi-category portfolio strategy across Snacks, Beverages, Bakeries and Grains with outstanding marketing execution that delivers both immediate performance and long-term brand equity.

This leader places the consumer at the centre of every decision, anticipating how expectations for real, functional, meaningful and joyful convenient food and snacks are evolving — across occasions, formats and needs — ensuring PepsiCo’s portfolio remains relevant, differentiated and culturally resonant wherever, whenever and however consumers choose to engage.

Operating as a key member of the South Africa Executive Leadership Team, this leader partners cross-functionally to deliver end-to-end growth, embedding disciplined portfolio choices, strong commercial thinking and modern marketing practices spanning digital, data, media, content, innovation and commercialisation. They influence beyond the local market, contributing to EMEA and the Global system, shaping the future of food while building iconic brands and leaving a lasting legacy that enables PepsiCo to perform at its full potential.

Ultimately, this CMO is a growth architect and capability builder — able to expand categories, strengthen competitive advantage, and build high-performing, future-ready teams that position the business for sustained success.

As CMO Southern Africa, this role defines the long-term brand and category vision, accelerates demand, and builds world-class, future-fit marketing capabilities—anchored in the Operating Unit of the Future (OUOTF) vision and One PepsiCo ways of working.

The ambition is to place consumers at the centre of everything we do as they seek more real, functional, meaningful and joyful convenient food and snacks —where, when, why and how they choose—  our brands must always be there. This is a role shapes the future of food and builds iconic brands, and leave a lasting legacy that enables PepsiCo to perform to its full potential.

This role blends big-picture vision with hands-on leadership, combining multi-category portfolio strategy with outstanding marketing execution.

The role sits on the SA Exec Leadership Team, with influence that extends beyond the market into EMEA and the Global system.

• Responsible for strategy, category leadership and brand growth.
• Lead the growth of one of PepsiCo EMEA’s largest markets
• Rapidly shape the future of food, bakeries&grains, beverages & snacking, as occasions, formats, and consumer expectations evolve  
• Lead the future of marketing with a consumer-occasion- category-centric mindset
• Build modern capabilities across Digital, CDNA, first-party data, media, content and Innovation and commercialisation
• Drive transformation that goes beyond SA, influencing EMEA and the global agenda
• Embed Growth Navigator principles to sharpen portfolio roles, resource allocation and brand prioritisation.

Category & Portfolio Leadership

• Own the growth strategy for SA and partner with Commercial CoE on the AFH growth and Digital Commerce agendas
• Reinvent and future-proof our Core brands meeting Emerging Consumer Needs, Removing Barriers, and driving elevated food, beverages, Bakeries & Grains experiences that drive short- and long-term margin-accretive growth.

• Lead category growth vision in partnership with the global team (10-year horizon), identify opportunities to expand the existing business into new incremental and consumer-relevant segments.

• Build short- and long-term margin-accretive growth brand plans. Manage the branding strategy and execution for all categories and the portfolio strategy and growth plans across SA.
• Ensure strong E2E business thinking and P&L discipline rooted in Growth Navigator.
• Enable and track AOP execution and ensure the delivery of KPIs.
• Operate as a visible leader on the SA LT, partnering with Supply Chain, Finance and RGM to deliver the plan while investing for the future (OUOTF “Faster, Stronger, Better” priorities).

Brand & Demand Creation

• Design and ensure the implementation of brand communication and activation strategies, from insights to copy and media mix.
• Execute global brand positioning for global brands and define brand positioning for local brands.

• Drive consumer satisfaction metrics (BPS: Salience, Relevance, Preference, Distinction).

• Set brand vision and communication strategy from insight to creative and media
• Deliver world-class A&M effectiveness using MMM and ROI discipline, managing A&M.

• Balance global brand consistency with local cultural relevance
• Modernise demand creation through digital-first, social-first and creator-led models

• Orchestrate social‑first, creator‑led brand platforms; raise the creative bar through culturally resonant storytelling and rigorous media ROI discipline.
• Build a modern content & experimentation engine (audiences, test‑and‑learn, dynamic creative optimization) to scale effectiveness.

Innovation Leadership

• Own the transformation, Reframe, and Breakthrough global innovation agenda
• Govern stage‑gates from insight to commercialisation, ensuring pack/pricing/promo architectures are competitive and brand‑accretive.
• Partner cross-functionally to ensure speed, quality and commercial impact
• Deliver incremental and breakthrough growth through bold, consumer-led innovation

Capability & Team Leadership

• Lead and develop teams across Insights, Marketing Services, Digital, Commercialisation and Brand Marketing
• Build high-performing, diverse and future-ready marketing talent
• Embed new capabilities, including Growth Navigator, IBP and Digital GTM
• Foster collaboration across a complex matrix, internally and externally

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