Working at Rémy Cointreau since June 2018
Current position: Marketing Manager Germany & Austria
Based in Hamburg

3 skills to work in your team?
Mental flexibility, autonomy and proactivity, and team spirit working collaboratively with a variety of internal & external stakeholders.

Your job as Marketing Manager Germany & Austria

What does your job as Marketing Manager Germany & Austria entail?
Ultimately it’s about defining the direction we take with our amazing brand portfolio and the supporting marketing activations to achieve our ambitions.

My responsibility is to oversee the full process from brand planning to investment choices and excellent execution with our distribution partner whilst adhering to global brand guidelines. I work closely with the Area Manager (Pauline Moniez), we are a great team and collaboratively work together with our local partner in Germany and Austria to drive the business. As we are active all over Germany my role involves travelling locally, meeting with our partners and overseeing some of our highlight activations within the on-trade, off-trade and for end consumers. Together with Marketing Director for the cluster (Macarena Jimenez) and my remaining Marketing Manager colleagues from other markets, we regularly report back to the Maisons and work together on key implementations.

What are the main challenges in the markets you are in charge of?
Each market is different and brings its own dynamics, this keeps it interesting! Germany is highly fragmented in its off-trade structures with lots of players and a high price sensitivity amongst consumers. Austria on the other hand has fewer key players and a greatly dynamic on-trade scene to give just one example. Each brand in our portfolio plays a role and these roles can vary from market to market, which makes the job very diverse and constantly evolving.

You were previously working for Rémy Martin and LOUIS XIII in London. How was the transition to your current role and how did this prior experience impact you?
Leaving London was not easy but I was excited to move to this new role which was almost meant for me; German speaking and located within Germany and working across the entire portfolio versus just one Maison was a great move. Adapting to working from home and not regularly seeing my colleagues face to face was challenging at first, but I am a big believer in flexibility and taking the best from new circumstances to continue growing personally and professionally. It’s exciting having gotten to know all other brands in the portfolio now and working with many more teams than before. I have also enjoyed re-discovering my home country after more than 10 years abroad as all cities really have their own vibe and their own rules. Finally, moving from a subsidiary to a distribution model was (and is) a stimulating learning experience!

Your Journey at Rémy Cointreau

It has been 7 years since you joined our Group. What appealed to you in the first place and what keeps you motivated today?
I am really fortunate to have found a group whose values align with mine and we are lucky to work across so many incredible brands. The people and the brands are what makes Rémy Cointreau a special place and each time I meet a colleague who is directly linked to our production sites, I feel a huge sense of pride, motivation and humility at the same time.

What would be your advice for someone who wishes to join the luxury sector and especially Rémy Cointreau?
An affinity to spirits or experience in the industry is definitely a plus, yet I think a lot of factual knowledge can be gained on the job as long as there is drive, energy and passion.

I think there needs to be an understanding of our values and our company philosophy; an appreciation and humbleness of where we (and our products) come from and understanding this world is a people’s business is really important, I think you always go further as part of a strong team than alone.