MEET RAFAEL: SENIOR BRAND MANAGER, TREBOR AND HALLS, UK AND IRELAND, BASED IN THE UK

Monday, February 01, 2021

A Brazilian living in the UK with a passion for our brands

What is your background?

I am from Brazil where I went to Business School and did a degree in Business, but most of my career has leaned towards Marketing: I did a master’s in Marketing, a diploma in Branding and a certificate in Strategic Digital Marketing. I moved to the UK almost six years ago when I was working for Unilever.

I worked for Unilever and had other jobs in the UK for a few years before I was approached by Mondelēz International. I had a wish list of companies I wanted to work for, and Mondelez was top of my list, so it was a no-brainer.

As a consumer I love the brands we own, but most importantly, I believe Mondelez also fit my career plan. The company can offer the things I find most important for my career – increasing levels of responsibility and empowerment; a variety of brands and marketing roles to get involved in; international relocation and exposure to different markets and categories.

What does your role involve day to day?

As a Senior Brand Manager for Trebor and Halls, I’m responsible for the future of those two brands and how they contribute to the overall business. I’m talking about the foundation of the brands; their equity and purpose. What do we stand for? What is the perception of consumers? What is our visual identity? What’s the tone of voice we use? What is the character of the brand?

I also drive the innovation pipeline for the brands, based on business objectives and challenges. What kind of new product will meet consumers’ needs or solve their problems? Moreover, I need to ensure that the brands are performing well in the market, monitoring sales and other commercial metrics to ensure we deliver our targets, making sure our products are always available and visible at the retailers; interacting with customers, from the giant supermarkets to the smaller corner shops.

I love my role because I have full ownership of my brands. Although we work cross-functionally, you have a lot of empowerment and ownership at Mondelez. That’s the dream of any marketeer, to have a brand so that you can make decisions and see results coming through

Can you describe the culture?

The culture is very easy going and, in the UK, it’s very flexible. Because we are such a global company, we have team members all over the world – we’re quick to connect with anyone, anytime, so we have the tools we need to perform our work wherever we are.

We have flexible working hours and I'm able to work from home frequently. I've been home to Brazil twice since I joined and worked from our office there. You need to agree things with your line manager upfront, but they will do their best to accommodate your needs. One of our company values is trust, so as long as you trust people are doing their best, everything should be fine.

Do you enjoy working with people from all over?

I do a lot of travelling and I speak different languages. That’s my way to connect with different cultures. Working with people from all over the world is just amazing and a privilege for me.

I love it that we have people from different backgrounds, different races, different everything, as it adds to the richness of the team. It's exciting. It encourages discussion because you are always learning something new. In the end our work is about people and we are all consumers, so if you have that perception then I think your job is easier; you are not so short-sighted.

And I've come across some great people in my time here. They’re real role models for me – they inspire and motivate me.

What is your favorite brand?

I’m crazy about Oreo. Oreo is my favorite product, along with everything that has Oreo in it. I love them all! I also love some of our premium brands, such as Green and Black's chocolate.