EVP – Strategy and Portfolio — Premium-Brands Portfolio

The mandate

A premium-brands portfolio has used list-price increases to offset ingredient, packaging and freight inflation. Realised price has improved, but elasticity and retailer resistance now differ sharply by brand and pack. Some hero products retain authority; others depend on promotions or price ladders that no longer make sense. Savings programmes have reduced cost, yet they also create choices about formulation, packaging and sourcing that may affect brand promise.

The board does not want another annual margin plan composed of disconnected pricing and procurement actions. It needs a strategic answer on where to hold price, redesign pack architecture, reformulate, change source, exit a range or accept a lower margin to protect long-term franchise value. Existing category plans use different assumptions and rarely show how customer, consumer and supply responses interact.

The EVP – Strategy and Portfolio will own the enterprise margin and portfolio choices. The remit spans strategy, portfolio, price-pack architecture, value engineering, sourcing scenarios, market insight and board decision support. Brand, commercial, R&D and supply leaders retain execution; the EVP creates one evidence base and decision cadence across approximately 1,025 employees and material partners.

This planned role is based on site in London and reports to the Chief Executive or designated executive sponsor. The executive will work across international markets and suppliers and must distinguish premium stewardship from resistance to any change.

Why this seat is open

The incumbent strategy leader will leave after an agreed transition to an external non-executive career. Margin recovery is currently owned through functional programmes with no executive accountable for the combined consumer and portfolio outcome. The board has broadened the replacement role after the latest plan produced competing brand, pricing and sourcing recommendations.

What you will own

• Build the portfolio margin strategy by brand, market, pack and channel, with explicit consumer, retailer, cost and cash assumptions.
• Govern strategic investment above GBP 300 million across innovation, packaging, value engineering, sourcing and portfolio moves.
• Redesign price-pack architecture to preserve accessible entry points, premium ladders and channel roles without uncontrolled size or variant complexity.
• Lead make, source, reformulate and specification choices with quality and brand evidence and full transition economics.
• Establish gates for brands and ranges that fail contribution, repeat, differentiation or strategic-role criteria.
• Integrate consumer elasticity, retailer response, competitor, commodity and supply scenarios into board choices without claiming precise certainty.
• Chair portfolio reviews that stop, sequence or scale work and release technical, marketing and supply capacity.
• Build a strategy team and assumption record capable of testing whether realised outcomes support the original thesis.

The first 12 months

• Days 1–90: Reconcile price, promotion, pack, cost and elasticity evidence across brands and markets. Identify hero products and fragile price points, freeze unsupported variants and agree decision criteria with the board. Select the few margin choices requiring early technical or customer testing.
• Months 4–9: Approve and execute the price-pack and portfolio plan, begin controlled reformulation, packaging or sourcing changes and close weak ranges. Test customer and consumer response before broad rollout and redirect capital to the most defensible franchises.
• Months 10–12: Demonstrate sustainable realised margin, mix and repeat in priority brands, with no hidden inventory or promotional reversal. Complete the three-year portfolio and sourcing roadmap and show resources released from discontinued complexity.

What the board will measure

• Gross and contribution margin improvement reconciled to realised price, mix, cost, promotion and portfolio actions.
• Price-pack ladders preserving target consumer access and premium differentiation across priority channels.
• Reformulation, packaging and sourcing changes meeting brand, quality, supply and economic thresholds.
• Low-value ranges and variants exited with inventory and customer consequences controlled.
• Strategy forecasts updated promptly as elasticity, retailer or commodity evidence changes.
• Capital and talent concentrated on brands and actions with defensible consumer and financial value.

The person

You are an EVP or SVP of strategy, portfolio or revenue growth, a premium-category leader or consumer general manager with 22–28 years of experience. You have led margin recovery through price-pack, portfolio and sourcing choices rather than price alone. You have governed at least GBP 250 million of strategic investment and influenced 750 or more employees.

You understand premium brand economics and consumer choice. You can evaluate elasticity, pack roles, promotions, retailer terms, specification and sourcing and have stopped a cost action that threatened brand value or quality. You have also exited a beloved but economically weak range when evidence required it.

Relevant backgrounds include beauty, personal care, home, food, consumer health or luxury-accessible categories. Consulting candidates need direct resource and implementation accountability. Commercial or procurement leaders must show whole-portfolio and brand consequences.

The role is based in London with international travel. Candidates elsewhere may qualify with relocation. The EVP must be comfortable with evidence that differs by market and avoid both global uniformity and uncontrolled local exceptions.

Compensation and terms

Base compensation is expected to be GBP 250,000–340,000, accompanied by annual incentive and long-term participation. Measures will cover margin quality, price-pack architecture, portfolio focus, brand health and strategic execution. This is a permanent urgent replacement. Relocation and verified forfeited awards may be considered.

Confidentiality

The client, brands, formulations, suppliers and pricing plans are confidential. Identifying information will be shared only after fit and protection are established. Applicants must not contact retailers, agencies or suppliers to infer the portfolio.

Each response must contain no more than 49 words.