Picked business school because I liked the messy human side of products more than the math.

Compared myself to engineering peers with higher starting salaries. Hard to see the long arc.

Curiosity about why people buy what they buy is the only durable marketing skill.

Marketing fundamentals, consumer behaviour, case competitions, internships

Two years of MBA with electives in brand and consumer insights. Summer at Coca-Cola on shopper marketing.

Realising classroom case studies are mostly post-rationalised wins. Few professors teach how the messy mid-decisions are made.

An MBA is a network and a confidence boost — not a competence. Competence comes from year three onwards.

Joined Coca-Cola as a management trainee.

Brand strategy, marketing analytics, communications, summer internship in FMCG

Four years owning a sub-brand in a major FMCG portfolio. Television, retail, digital — the full ecosystem.

Internal politics around brand budgets. Watching campaigns I championed get reviewed harshly in research.

Brand work is patience. Sales acts on quarters; brand pays back in years.

Grew sub-brand market share from 6.4% to 9.1% in three years.

P&L ownership, media planning, agency briefing, ATL/BTL campaigns, shopper insights

Switched from FMCG to a software product company. The metrics were faster, the budgets smaller, the audience louder.

Earning credibility with engineers who saw marketing as overhead. Translating brand work into language a CFO listened to.

Marketing leadership is mostly about choosing what not to do. The best CMOs say no for a living.

Led the rebrand of a 200-person company. Built a content engine that drives one-third of pipeline.

Spend the first half of your marketing career on a product you can put on a shelf. Tangibility teaches what no dashboard does.

Tech marketing, performance marketing fluency, narrative strategy, leadership, content