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Green Goblin and Spider-Man. The Montagues and the Capulets. The CEO and their top marketer.
Peaceful coexistence might seem like a pipe dream, but at least there’s a viable path forward for C-suite execs. Speaking at ADWEEK’s annual Brandweek conference in Phoenix, Ariz. on Tuesday, Nespresso’s North America CEO Alfonso Gonzalez Loeschen and vp of U.S. marketing Jessica Padula broke down the challenges they faced in making their relationship thrive—and how they overcame them.
Complicating the dynamic is Loeschen’s deep experience as a top marketer himself: He was Nespresso’s global CMO before stepping into its top spot in North America four years ago.
Before Padula started, she and Loeschen had to level-set on what the expectations of the job would be, Loeschen said. This was pivotal in starting the relationship, as Loeschen was able to lay out the hard and soft skills he valued most in a marketing leader.
“At that point in time, Jess was viewing the role in a way where it was more marketing-focused and marketing-oriented only,” Loeschen said.
He emphasized that since Padula would be sitting on the board of Nespresso North America, she’d have broader influence across the entire organization. She would, for instance, need to sway other colleagues in the C-suite, he said. The job also demanded the need to recognize when and how to be a right hand to the sales unit, Padula added.
Padula had to branch out within the Nespresso organization. For instance, no one had ever walked her, line-by-line, through Nespresso’s full profit and loss statement, she said, even though she was familiar with the marketing team’s P&L. Padula recalled going to the CFO and asking for someone to take her through the whole thing.
If a marketer thinks of themselves as the only person who’s in charge of the brand, that’s going to be an issue from day one.
Jessica Padula, vp of U.S. marketing, Nespresso
“It’s not because I’m ever going to own it, but I need to be able to talk to [the CFO] about how he thinks,” she said. The need for curiosity and willingness to learn from colleagues become more relevant the higher someone ascends in an organization, she said.
Meanwhile, Padula also needed Loeschen’s assurance that he would trust her enough to leave her alone enough so she could do her job.