Valerie van Schaick, Chief Marketing Officer at Alpine Hearing Protection, leads the global brand strategy for one of Europe’s fastest-growing companies in the hearing protection category. From sleeping better at night to protecting hearing at festivals or on motorcycles, Alpine develops solutions for moments when sound becomes a challenge. In this conversation, Valerie shares how the company drives rapid international growth through a combination of problem awareness, fast e

With more than seven million customers per week and 125,000 employees across its stores, Albert Heijn operates at a scale few retailers can match. But scale alone does not guarantee growth. In a category where consumers can switch supermarkets every single week, growth must be earned continuously. For Johan van der Zanden, Chief Marketing Officer and member of the executive board at Albert Heijn, brand growth is not about a single lever. It is about orchestrating a system and

In banking, growth is never just about campaigns. It is shaped by reputation, regulation, trust and public opinions. For Tanja Bom, Head of Marketing Communications at ABN AMRO, brand growth starts with one clear metric, brand consideration, but achieving it requires much more than communication. It demands emotional creativity, disciplined data use, organisational alignment and, above all, living up to what you promise. In this conversation, she reflects on the realities of

With over 25 years of experience in commercial and marketing roles at companies such as Unilever, Grolsch, and now Asahi, Ard Bossema, General Manager EMEA & Latin America, has seen the marketing landscape evolve dramatically. Yet despite the changing tools and technologies, the fundamental drivers of growth remain remarkably consistent. In this conversation, he shares how Asahi approaches brand growth through a clear framework, how the beer category is adapting to shifting c