Never compromise
on staying true
to your mission
Join us this week as we get Up-Close with Lisa Marçais, former Chief Commercial Officer at Huel. In this interview, Lisa discusses the rise of consumer conscientiousness and which avenues she turns to, to stay up-to-date across both commercial and strategic verticals.
What is your career highlight to date and how has that influenced you as a leader?
I was reflecting on this question the other day and I could highlight a few things, but I will focus on People - the people I have worked with have made all of my experiences incredible. I believe that in the end, the accumulation of our professional experiences are primarily about human interactions and adventures. For me, working with a group of individuals from different backgrounds, all heading towards the same goal and mission, is what drives the business industry.
Talking about people, I also think that the diversity of individuals I have met has made my experiences memorable. I am originally from France and I have been living abroad for the last 8 years now, and working across multiple countries and cultures has made me a better person; I also believe it has contributed to my growth as a well-rounded leader and individual. Additionally, I have been able to build teams that are as diverse as possible, which I consider to be the secret sauce for high-performing teams.
“For me, working with a group of individuals from different backgrounds, all heading towards the same goal and mission, is what drives the business industry”
In your opinion, what is what are the top 3 attributes of a great digital leader?
I think the first attribute is having a growth mindset because our digital industry is constantly evolving. It requires you as a leader to always adapt and mould to different environments and outcomes. You never know what is going to come next, so you need to constantly adapt and never take a decision for granted. It means you always need to adjust your strategy as well. That is why I believe a growth mindset is so important because it requires you to be agile in navigating the evolving business needs in real time. It also necessitates being humble with your decisions and constantly adapting.
The second attribute is aligning with your values and passion. As a digital leader, I have been privy to many entrepreneurs and leaders building businesses. For me, it is about finding an area where you can be yourself, feel comfortable and strive. This, I think, is the second most crucial attribute of a great leader.
The third attribute is being a team player, which is vital. As a digital leader, you will not be successful if you behave like a lone wolf. The most successful digital leaders have the ability to build teams around them with individuals who are often stronger than they are and who complement one another.
Given your exposure to a variety of different businesses, do you believe that you need different skill sets for different stages of company growth from start-up, to scale-up, to listed?
In my career, I have been lucky enough to work and be exposed to the three stages of growth that you are describing, so I can definitely share my experience and observations, but I don’t think there is this hard line between these stages as some might think. When you are a startup, it is usually small, with few seasoned managers, and the business model is usually unproven, so it is operating at a very fundamental level. People working in this type of environment are usually hands-on, love iterating, testing, learning and building. At this very early stage, they take on multiple roles so in terms of skillset, they need to be extremely entrepreneurial, curious, creative, hands-on and willing to take risks.
As a business grows and enters the scale-up phase, the business is certified. At this stage of growth, you start recruiting experts and managers to accelerate your growth. For example, in one country, you may establish a new growth pillar (i.e. a focus on retail), and recruit experts in the business who can grow the retail division and equally scale with the business and become your future managers and leaders. For this stage of growth, you need to be comfortable with ambiguity and have a strong growth mindset. Additionally, being analytical and data-driven is crucial to assess and adapt your solutions to the scaling environment and business model.
Finally, when you become a listed company it means your business is scaled enough to have experts across every functional area leading their respective parts. You have a much larger team with narrower roles. For this stage of business, the type of skillset you need includes hiring people who are extremely rigorous because any decision made can have a significant impact. Data transparency and strong communication skills are also essential; with more people comes the need for greater cross-functional coordination. Project management skills are also crucial to combine different agendas.
In my experience, especially in listed companies, you need two types of skills – those I have outlined above (leaders who will grow your business and continue building and capturing market share), but you also need people with entrepreneurial mindsets to take on new projects/ventures or lead new areas to continue growing, diversifying and evolving your business model.
How has the instability in economic market since the turmoil of Covid impacted your strategy?
Obviously, so many businesses have gone through this recently and are reacting in different ways. For me, I think there are two realities to distinguish between scenarios where you can drive impact and scenarios that you need to mitigate. When you operate in troublesome markets, you understand very well the external factors that impact your business. For example, the impact of COVID-19 on supply chain, inventory, inflation prices and demand. In these scenarios, you will have to mitigate external factors as you won't be able to remove them completely from the equation, so you need to adjust to them. At the same time, you need to double down and understand how these external factors are impacting your consumers and course-correct accordingly. For example, many businesses are currently reacting to the fact that consumers may have less money to spend or are more cautious. However, In my experience, external challenges can equally create opportunities. During my time at ASOS when Covid hit, customers were buying more fitness outfits and even occasionally dresses, so you need to see how your consumers are evolving and reacting to the external environment and be agile, iterative, pragmatic and proactive with that.
Another aspect that is vital is to understand your financials and key performance indicators (KPIs) to comprehend how external factors impact your business, and you will need to iterate swiftly and smartly to optimise your profit. Right now, we are facing a difficult time for many businesses, and while trying to maintain growth, many are optimising profit. So it is a balance between external factors (and understanding this impact on your consumer behaviour and choices), and internal factors (your structural capabilities and P&L). One area where you should never compromise on is staying true to your mission and customer promise because as soon as the economy recovers or external factors change, you will need to be ready to scale again and go after new opportunities and your customers are the heart of your business.
What would your advice be to leaders leading through economic challenges for the first time?
I think perhaps three things. Firstly, being pragmatic and opting for simple and pragmatic solutions is often the best approach in the short and medium term. It is easy to get overwhelmed by macroeconomic factors, so I would suggest sticking to your business model; prioritising your actions, and being pragmatic about what is essential for continued growth (top-line and bottom-line) as we all face these challenges head-on.
Secondly, it is crucial to keep your mission, customer promise and end goal in mind, especially when dealing with short-term challenges. Staying focused on your prioritised line of sight can help guide your decisions and actions during difficult times.
Lastly, I believe that checking in on yourself and those around you is critical when facing tough economic challenges. Economic difficulties not only impact economies and businesses but also affect people on a personal level. We saw many people suffering at home (during the Covid lockdown, for example), and now more people are experiencing the effects of the economic slowdown. As a leader, it is super important to be mindful of this and offer support where needed.
“However, despite living in a highly digital world, I still value the power of meeting people and learning from new businesses. Putting things into perspective through real-world connections remains an essential source of information for me.”
What are the trends that you've seen develop in nutrition in the last 12 to 24 months?
I think in the consumer goods sector overall there is the obvious impact of inflation. We have seen that consumers are now more price-sensitive than ever, and the cost-of-living crisis drastically affects how they are making spending decisions - saving money is now top of mind. One significant data point is that in 2022, 75% of customers did not plan to increase their spending, which shows they are limited in their spending choices due to affordability constraints. This has led to a shift towards seeking more discounts and affordable options, creating an opportunity for brands to maintain market share through different payment methods or affordable assortments. The key trend among customers today is price sensitivity, and this has a widespread impact on most people’s spending habits.
Moreover, consumers are not only buying less due to economic reasons, but there is also a rising trend of wanting to consume more responsibly and there is a clear wake-up call regarding sustainability. So on the one side, consumption is reduced due to economic constraints, leading to less waste, and on the other hand, customers are now opting for more eco-friendly alternatives (such as energy-efficient products or sustainably sourced products), buying second-hand items, and reducing waste, etc. This trend of conscious consumption is driven by both economic constraints and a genuine willingness from consumers to change their consumption habits in favour of reducing their impact on the environment.
The third trend I see is related to health and wellness, which has only accelerated since COVID-19. More customers are taking time to prioritise their health and wellness, with a growing focus on mental health (this latter point has particularly skyrocketed since COVID-19).
Lastly, there is a noticeable readjustment between growth and profit from a business perspective. In the past, valuations could be based on sales growth, but now, profitability is becoming the key critical metric. In my opinion, this shift was necessary and reflects changing market dynamics.
“This trend of conscious consumption is driven by both economic constraints and a genuine willingness from consumers to change their consumption habits in favour of reducing their impact on the environment.”
Do you believe this shift from healthcare to self-care, from reactive to proactive and the uptake in tech-enabled preventative measures is the future of nutrition or consumer goods in general?
Definitely. I think among the trends that we see rising for the next 5 to 10 years, health is a significant one. Technology will enable more personalised experiences and brand relevance for consumers.
Additionally, with recent tech advancements like ChatGPT, we see technology being more pervasive in people’s lives, and at times even replacing certain human tasks. Even if we don’t get to a place where technology replaces all of our tasks, it will place humans in a different context, and we need to leverage technology to automate where it is necessary but also focus on redefining human interactions within businesses through technology enablement.
On the topic of technology, I would like to mention social commerce. The younger generations, like Generation Z, for example, are completely immune to traditional advertising. They seek authenticity, products with social impact, and they grow up influenced by videos. Social commerce, with companies like Whatnot from the US, is booming and it is intriguing to see how technology coupled with social communities will provide better automation, understanding, and a new way of selling products with authenticity and more user-generated content and experiences through videos, ultimately fostering better social interactions. It is an exciting prospect. At the beginning, I did not quite get it, but when you see how it is structured; how younger generations interact, connect and buy, and the incredible validation it receives, it is fascinating.
How do you keep up to date in your sector whether that be as a leader or with emerging trends? Are there any books, podcasts or other content you recommend?
Working in strategy and commercial verticals, I stay plugged into external macroeconomic factors, and I read news sources like the Financial Times and other global news outlets to understand how things are evolving globally. Additionally, I love combining this with insights from tech-specific sources like TechCrunch, The Grocer and LinkedIn, which provide valuable tech-related information. Podcasts are also a favourite of mine, especially when I'm commuting or in the car. They offer an efficient way to digest high-quality content. Some of the podcasts I follow include "Secret Leaders" and "The Strategy Doctor," along with "Diary of the CEO," which I absolutely love.
However, despite living in a highly digital world, I still value the power of meeting people and learning from new businesses. Putting things into perspective through real-world connections remains an essential source of information for me. Especially post-Covid, being able to reconnect with people and engage in face-to-face interactions is something I truly value.
Before we end, I wanted to say one final thing and expand a little bit more on future trends, as I see it. The first trend is definitely technology, which we touched on earlier. The second one is socially conscious consumerism, where consumers are now more active and vocal in how they make purchasing decisions, and hence influence companies in prioritising social and environmental agendas. This connects to your last question about the books I am reading. I am currently quite interested in understanding how businesses can change their behaviour and prioritise people and the planet, not just profit. I love the 4 P's by Peter Fisk, and I am currently reading a book that explores the interplay between people, the planet and profits in business practices and how society and the planet can be put at the heart of what we do.
