Core learning screen

Jabari Diallo

From Business Undergraduate to Head of Brand Marketing

Last updated: Apr 3, 2025

Marketing Leader in Marketing & Brand · Tokyo, Japan

From management trainee in FMCG to head of brand at a tech company. Sharing a real career story for marketers — the campaigns that flopped, the metric wars with growth, and how I stopped chasing titles.

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Career Timeline

Education2015-2017
Business Undergraduate
BITS Pilani
Picked business school because I liked the messy human side of products more than the math.
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ContextPicked business school because I liked the messy human side of products more than the math.
ChallengesCompared myself to engineering peers with higher starting salaries. Hard to see the long arc.
LearningsCuriosity about why people buy what they buy is the only durable marketing skill.
Skills acquired
Marketing fundamentalsconsumer behaviourcase competitionsinternships
Higher Studies2017-2020
MBA Candidate (Marketing)
BITS Pilani
Two years of MBA with electives in brand and consumer insights. Summer at Coca-Cola on shopper marketing.
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ContextTwo years of MBA with electives in brand and consumer insights. Summer at Coca-Cola on shopper marketing.
ChallengesRealising classroom case studies are mostly post-rationalised wins. Few professors teach how the messy mid-decisions are made.
LearningsAn MBA is a network and a confidence boost — not a competence. Competence comes from year three onwards.
OutcomeJoined Coca-Cola as a management trainee.
Skills acquired
Brand strategymarketing analyticscommunicationssummer internship in FMCG
First Job2020-2024
Brand Manager
Coca-Cola
Four years owning a sub-brand in a major FMCG portfolio. Television, retail, digital — the full ecosystem.
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ContextFour years owning a sub-brand in a major FMCG portfolio. Television, retail, digital — the full ecosystem.
ChallengesInternal politics around brand budgets. Watching campaigns I championed get reviewed harshly in research.
LearningsBrand work is patience. Sales acts on quarters; brand pays back in years.
OutcomeGrew sub-brand market share from 6.4% to 9.1% in three years.
Skills acquired
P&L ownershipmedia planningagency briefingATL/BTL campaignsshopper insights
Career Switch2024-Present
Head of Brand Marketing
Stripe
Switched from FMCG to a software product company. The metrics were faster, the budgets smaller, the audience louder.
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ContextSwitched from FMCG to a software product company. The metrics were faster, the budgets smaller, the audience louder.
ChallengesEarning credibility with engineers who saw marketing as overhead. Translating brand work into language a CFO listened to.
LearningsMarketing leadership is mostly about choosing what not to do. The best CMOs say no for a living.
OutcomeLed the rebrand of a 200-person company. Built a content engine that drives one-third of pipeline.
Skills acquired
Tech marketingperformance marketing fluencynarrative strategyleadershipcontent
AdviceSpend the first half of your marketing career on a product you can put on a shelf. Tangibility teaches what no dashboard does.

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Jabari Diallo

Career Timeline

Business Undergraduate

MBA Candidate (Marketing)

Brand Manager

Head of Brand Marketing

Reflections & Questions from Readers