As a Senior Brand Manager at in Australia and New Zealand, Yvonne Desacola has worked across the Body, Hand, All Purpose Cream and Face Care categories. Now she’s taking her experience and insights from the local market to a global stage, as the new International Brand Manager for NIVEA Body Essentials, based in Hamburg, Germany. On the eve of her departure from Australia, Yvonne spoke to BD about her next challenge.
Can you briefly tell us a bit about your career history prior to joining Beiersdorf?
Prior to Beiersdorf, I spent eight years in the consumer durables industry, working predominantly on Fisher & Paykel and also on Haier Appliances; and two years in the fashion industry. While these industries are very different from each other, the compass that drives me to making my career choice is that I must be passionate about what I do and the brands/products that I represent. Now, I feel like I know so much about the female consumer from so many different perspectives.
As your first experience working in the cosmetics industry, what were your expectations before you joined Beiersdorf?
I was looking forward to stepping outside my comfort zone, being in a completely new industry so that I could learn (and unlearn) everything that I have known about the female consumer and marketing.
Were there any surprises?
My favourite part of this industry that really surprised me was how much beauty and skincare can really make someone feel good. For instance, I remember reading a letter from a consumer who was using our NIVEA Body Lotion on her daughter, who was a cancer patient. In the letter she explained that her daughter was able to get a moment of relief from using our Body Lotion.
Likewise with the Look Good, Feel Better program that the industry supports, it’s amazing how we can give just that little bit of confidence and relief to people who are going through one of the toughest times in their lives.
Can you tell us a bit about your new role and what you’ll be working on following the move to Beiersdorf HQ?
In my new role as International Brand Manager, I’ll be responsible for the core of the Body business, including the NIVEA Rich Nourishing Body Lotion. This role is based in our global head office at Hamburg, Germany and I’ll be collaborating and working closely with all markets including Australia, understanding the consumer trends and needs at a global level, working on the communication packages and developing the long-term product pipeline.
What are you most looking forward to about working from the global head office?
I look forward to collaborating with all the different markets and understanding the local consumer nuances of each market. I’ll get to see what works and does not work at a larger scale and be closer to the research and development, which will be very exciting.
What qualities or experiences do you think your time working at NIVEA in Australia will help you to bring to your new global role?
The local Beiersdorf team are incredibly passionate and experienced, I have learnt so much from them to take with me into my new role. Coming from the Australian subsidiary, I’ll be able to relate with the local markets whom I’ll be working closely with. Moving into the global position, it will allow me to share insights about the female consumer from the Australian and New Zealand perspective but also from different category and industry perspectives.
