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ALLEXO SEARCH

Case Studies

Case Studies


NPD Group - Head of Commercial, Northern Europe

The NPD Group retained Allexo to support a confidential search for a Head of Commercial for their Toys practice with commercial responsibility for Northern Europe, with direct line responsibility for Directors of the UK and German markets, and an indirect team of 16.

We were tasked with finding an individual who had strong commercial acumen and a proven track record of developing and leading high performing teams based across multiple markets. The ability to nurture talent at the more junior levels was critical, as well as mentoring the more senior individuals within the teams to deliver strong commercial success with both and new and existing clients.

Through a thorough briefing process we identified and agreed to source from two key talent pools for the role – candidates currently within the Toys industry with strong sector knowledge and a ‘black book’ of contacts, and those with a proven track record within market research and insights at a senior level. A new role within the business, this also involved a salary benchmarking exercise and a review of feedback from the market before confirming a shortlist and moving to interview stage.

Through a thorough search and working closely to the brief, a longlist of 9 interested candidates was proposed, with 3 moving forward to interview – with a difficult decision to be made between the final two candidates.


MetrixLab  - Senior Director

Allexo were approached by MetrixLab for a key role within their senior management team in line with ambitious growth plans following a merger with Macroomill, the largest online research provider in Japan.

The focus was on finding a senior research expert with particular expertise within the shopper space, who was commercially focused with the network to help develop and grow MetrixLabs client portfolio in the UK.

Following an extensive market search, Jon Arthurs was appointed as Senior Director, who has since been promoted twice to become Managing Director of the UK business.


RB - Category Development Manager

As a result of an internal promotion, RB had a requirement for a Category Development Manager to manage Tesco in the UK business.

Being a key strategic account for the category, it was essential to ensure this individual had the credibility and gravitas to make an immediate impact in the role, as well as the potential to develop and progress within a 9 – 12 month in line with the existing structure of the team.

Exploring all options, Allexo submitted a shortlist of candidates from a range of backgrounds, with Matt Prestipino, previously National Account Manager at Diageo, being successfully appointed for the role. Ryan has since been promoted twice to become Senior Digital Traffic & Strategy Manager.


Pladis – Global Head of Consumer & Market Insight

Having had a long track record of success previously recruiting for United Biscuits’ UK marketing & commercial teams, Allexo were asked to lead a confidential search for a Head of Consumer & Market Insight for a newly established global function, following their acquisition by Ulker to create pladis.

Their efforts were focused on the high growth emerging markets, where GDP was rising and the consumer demographic was constantly evolving, and it was essential to find someone with experience in these markets – a very limited talent pool to recruit from in the UK and Europe.

Following an in-depth pan-European search, Deirdre Van Zyl was successfully appointed from J&J.


Asahi – Insight Manager, Customer & Channel

Having supported Asahi (previously Miller Brands UK) for a number of years developing their marketing, category and insights teams, Allexo were asked to support on a search for an Insights Manager for the UK business.

With a focus on the on-trade channels, the challenge was to find an experienced Insight Manager with both continuous and adhoc research experience, who had worked in channels where data is often very limited, and ideally with an appreciation for luxury or drinks.

A very niche brief, having completed an extensive market research and re-aligning a number of times in-line with feedback from the market and Allexo, Vincenzo Milone was successfully offered the role, having previously been Insight Manager for the Foodservice and Licensed channels at Britvic. Vincenzo has since been promoted to become Senior Insight Manager.


Beam Suntory – International Brand Manager

Having had a long-standing relationship with a senior member of the global marketing team, Beam were asked to help find a International Brand Manager to join their team based in the UK.

With the role sitting in a global matrix structure, the challenge was finding someone who could work both independently and as part of a team, with a breadth of experience across comms and innovation, and coming from a tier 1 FMCG business.

With premium drinks being a highly popular category, the response from the search was strong, with Georgie Wren being appointed in the role. Georgie has since re-located internally to become Brand Manager for the Canadian Club brand based in Sydney, Australia.


RB – Senior Brand Manager

As a result of growth of RB’s marketing function, Allexo were asked to support on the search for a Senior Brand Manager to manage a key brand portfolio for the UK.

With roles at this level having a lot of visibility internally, it was key for this person to have the gravitas to manage a wide range of stakeholders up to a senior level, and with the right level of experience to ensure they didn’t have too much of a steep learning curve coming into the role. The remit of the role was broad across brand equity, comms and innovation and sufficient experience across all areas was essential.

Following an extensive market search, Allexo provided a qualified shortlist of candidates, with John Dillon successfully being appointed into the role. John had developed his career at Colgate in South Africa to Senior Brand Manager level before re-locating to the UK.