EMEA Head of Professional brand & Sikkens/Trade brands

AkzoNobel is seeking an EMEA Head of Professional Brand & Sikkens/Trade Brands to help shape the marketing future of Decorative Paints across EMEA.

This role will be responsible for building stronger, more purposeful brands, driving sustainable, competitive, and profitable growth, and inspiring the next generation of marketeers to embrace the Future of Marketing.

The EMEA Head of Brand & Category leads the strategic growth agenda for the Professional target group, shaping the future of the Professional business through brand and category strategy that delivers profitable, sustainable growth through stronger brands and innovations across EMEA. In addition, this role has responsibility for the lead Sikkens / Trade brands for Professional, including the Professional brand and branding guidelines, architecture, and increased development of new regional value propositions.

The role defines and supports a three-year growth strategy that integrates innovation, communication, and sustainability as core drivers of Professional painters’ preference and competitive advantage.

Working closely with country marketing teams and cross-functional partners, this role ensures strategic decision making, robust execution and roadmaps, and measurable business impact in the Professional market — turning the professional brand strategy and innovation into market success.

The role is a key member of the regional marketing leadership team, shaping the strategic agenda and ensuring strong collaboration across functions and markets.

Key success measures include brand health, especially brand preference for Sikkens/Trade brands among the Professional brands, market share, category growth and profitability, innovation funnel (ITO), CO2 reduction, and VOICES for the team.

About the role

Brand x Category strategy

• Accountable for the strategic marketing plan for the Professionals target group based on local situational analysis, including where to play and how to win in countries, brands, channels, and product categories.
• Accountable for the brand portfolio strategy for the Professionals target group.
• Accountable for strategy brief and roadmap brief to CU/countries for the Professional target group.
• Shape the Professional channel strategy, including e-commerce/omni-channel, with clarity on where to play and how to win strategies.
• Accountable for defining the Professional Pricing Strategy by Brand & Category with specific SPI (Strategic Price Index) in terms of where-to-play choices and monitoring API (Applied Price Index) in the markets, for necessary interventions to ensure NRR (Net Revenue Realisation) and NMR (Net Margin Realisation) as part of agreed execution plans with markets.
• Direct the asset development and product roadmap, translating strategy into a clear, time-bound plan that orchestrates innovation and communication priorities across the region in the Professional market.
• The role is a key member of the regional marketing leadership team (MLT), shaping the strategic agenda and ensuring strong collaboration across functions and markets.

Innovation & concepts

• Accountable for the innovation funnel and product roadmap for the Professional target group.
• Lead development of NPI (new to range) from briefing, recipe, artwork and packaging to master asset production.
• Lead NPI product development plan based on validated concepts, together with the category managers, taking sustainability and regulatory into consideration.
• Lead cross-functional ideation and concept development to commercialization, including professional research together with the professional insights manager to research untapped needs or campaign insights.
• Create concepts and value propositions for the Professional brands, ensuring sustainability and purposeful innovation principles are embedded in product and packaging development, value propositions, and claims.

Brand stewardship, comms & equity growth

• Accountable for the asset roadmap and the A&P budget allocated to the Professional target group.
• Develop and own portfolio, brand architecture and marketing mix for the Professional brand and translate, for the relevant sector, the global brand architecture for EMEA, as well as align and give input into the lead brand, for example Sikkens / Trade brands, brand architecture.
• Creative packaging design to support brand and specific product introductions and enhance architecture.
• Creative development and production of central marketing assets and guide content and activation strategy to enhance asset creation and lifting between Professional markets.
• Develop toolboxes and activation plans for new concepts and value propositions.
• Develop brand campaigns with clear objectives.
• Evaluate campaigns and NPIs to further improve and understand their ROI.
• Drive digital-enabled innovation opportunities including services, digital color tools, and enhanced customer solutions.
• Make sustainability attributes and messaging core to brand positioning and communications.

People Management

• Lead, coach, and inspire a team of four Brand Builders to deliver category and brand growth objectives.
• Build team capabilities in Professional brand strategy development, innovation management, communication excellence, and data-driven marketing.
• Set clear direction, priorities, and success measures aligned with the overall Professional category strategy and roadmap.
• Foster a culture of collaboration, empowerment, and continuous learning, enabling talent growth and cross-market mobility.
• Ensure alignment, knowledge sharing, and best practice exchange across markets and functions.

Performance management

• Influence senior leadership and cross-functional stakeholders to secure commitment and resources for strategic priorities and Professional category strategies to be linked to target letters.
• Track and evaluate business and brand KPIs, including category growth and profitability, share, equity/preference, innovation turnover, using insights to drive decision-making, portfolio optimization, and continuous improvement.

About You

• Educated to BA/BSc degree level or equivalent to Master’s degree in Marketing, business or similar field.
• 15+ years of progressive marketing leadership experience in FMCG (professional customers), consumer goods (B2B), or paints/coatings industries.
• Proven track record in building strong Professional brands and delivering business growth across complex, multi-country environments.
• Demonstrated success in leading marketing transformation, including digitalization, data-driven marketing, and innovation.
• Strong commercial acumen and strategic influence at senior levels.
• Exceptional team leadership skills, with the ability to inspire, coach, and mobilize teams across geographies and cultures.
• Significant experience of marketing or specialist functional area in a FMCG (professional customers), consumer goods, or paints/coatings market or unit to understand complexities in managing a professional category, brand, or market in a particular area.
• 5+ years of experience in leading a local marketing team.
• Strong pragmatic marketeer with natural interest in CU perspective on market situations, being close to the market, so they can develop and deliver relevant solutions within a dynamic environment.
• Demonstrated ability to balance creativity and a data-driven approach to drive effectiveness in development and execution of Professional marketing programs.
• Proven project management, analytical and organisational skills to structure the work with sufficient detail and accuracy, alongside a high level of interpersonal skill, to be able to negotiate and influence to get the work done whilst maintaining strong relationships.
• Advanced written and oral communication skills in English.