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2016

Lisa May

Marketing director UK and Ireland, confectionery

Nestle

Lisa May has had a long career in brand management with Nestlé, both in the UK and Ireland but also in Australia. Beginning her career on Unilever’s graduate training scheme, she has worked across a variety of snack and drink brands. She is currently overseeing the first big shake up of the iconic KitKat brand in a bid to fight falling sales across the category. Over the past year, the brand has doubled its marketing spend to £10m and focused on reactionary marketing linked to events such as the release of the James Bond film Spectre and Black Friday, which has resulted in increased sales across all formats. May cites her light-bulb moment as being the realisation that “if you think big, you will more than likely be surprised by what you can achieve”.

Best advice: “Surround yourself with great people and nurture their individual talents to build a strong team.”