The FMCG Guys

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/RQk7EXKzVKo 
Thiago Maia is the General Manager for Mexico and Latin America at Beauty Leader Wella Company. In this episode, recorded at Wella's Mexico City office, he reflects on a career spanning Unilever, Reckitt, L'Oréal, Netshoes, Coty and Wella, and explains how working across different industries, corporate cultures and Latin American markets shaped his leadership style. Thiago discusses leading business and cultural transformations, adapting his approach when moving from Brazil to Mexico, building high-performing teams and remaining authentic while navigating demanding environments. He also shares his perspective on family, personal wellbeing and why leaders should be kinder to themselves and take the time to enjoy the journey.
Building a career across consumer goods, beauty, retail and e-commerce
Leading turnarounds, integrations, scale-ups and cultural transformations
How Latin America develops adaptable and resourceful leaders
Understanding the cultural differences between Brazil and Mexico
Adapting your leadership style without compromising your values
Creating trust, autonomy and accountability within high-performing teams
Balancing professional ambition with family and personal wellbeing
Learning to celebrate achievements, trust the process and control the controllables
More
Audio Mixing by Modest Ferrer
Voice Acting by Jason Martorell Parsekian
Disclaimer The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the individual guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of The FMCG Guys (Dwyer Partners SL) or its partners. The FMCG Guys make no representations or warranties about the accuracy, completeness, or suitability of any information discussed, and accept no responsibility for any decisions or outcomes based on this content. Listeners are encouraged to seek their own professional advice before acting on any of the topics covered.

In this podcast recorded Live during Cannes on 23 June 2026, Efrain and Daniel where joined live in by Sandra Wagner, CEO at AuraVeo, a company that transforms products into intelligent brand assets; Roisin Devine, Senior Digital Manager Pringles at Kellanova; and Amy Andrews, President at Mars United Commerce. 
Watch on Youtube: https://youtu.be/oBOLZN01QL0 
Product Packaging is an often overlooked aspect of FMCG Marketing. And now, a part from being that first impression consumers get, it is now evolving from a physical container into a powerful media, data and engagement channel. In the conversation, we discuss how brands can use connected packaging, QR codes and AI to stand out on crowded shelves, continue the consumer conversation after purchase and create more personalized experiences. From Pringles' always-on digital platform to AI-powered product companions, the conversation reveals why the future of packaging lies in connecting the physical and digital worlds.
Tune in to hear about:
Why packaging remains one of the most influential touchpoints in the purchasing journey
How brands can turn products into interactive, intelligent brand assets
The role of QR codes in delivering games, content, promotions and personalized experiences
How connected packaging can generate valuable first-party consumer data
The importance of having that one-to-one dialog with your consumer
Why packaging must appeal to humans while also being readable and recommendable by AI
The importance of cross-functional collaboration between brand, design, digital, legal and supply-chain teams

More
Audio Mixing by Modest Ferrer
Voice Acting by Jason Martorell Parsekian
Disclaimer The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the individual guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of The FMCG Guys (Dwyer Partners SL) or its partners. The FMCG Guys make no representations or warranties about the accuracy, completeness, or suitability of any information discussed, and accept no responsibility for any decisions or outcomes based on this content. Listeners are encouraged to seek their own professional advice before acting on any of the topics covered.

View on YouTube: https://youtu.be/jNUoov9EBfM 
Rudolf (Rudi) Schneider is the Head of Ads Europe at Amazon and Marlies Gebetsberger is the SVP Western Europe Personal Care at Philips (recently promoted to SVP and Chief of Staff to CEO). These two repeat guests (appeared on the podcast in 2025 and 2024 respectively) joined Efrain and Daniel live in Cannes. 
The conversation covers cultural relevance, interactive media and the importance of meeting audiences within the communities and platforms where they already spend their time. From Philips OneBlade's Fortnite activation to the companies' long-term approach to connected commerce, the panel examines how consumer insight, creative experimentation, data and close collaboration can build brands while also driving measurable business results.
Tune in to hear about:
Why brands must contribute to culture rather than simply borrow from it
How Philips integrated OneBlade into Fortnite, Twitch and gaming communities
Moving measurement from passive reach towards active consumer intent
The "radical collaboration" behind Philips and Amazon's joint business planning
Using shopping insights to personalize messaging across the customer journey
Why consistent messaging does not mean using the same creative everywhere
The role senior leadership must play in connected commerce and retail media
How AI is shifting competition from a battle for visibility to a battle for recommendation
Building brands that are both loved by humans and understood by machines
 
More
See Rudi's Prior Apprearence: https://www.fmcgguys.com/quick-fire-shoptalk/ 
Listen to Marlies' other episode: https://www.fmcgguys.com/marlies-gebetsberger/ 
Audio Mixing by Modest Ferrer
Voice Acting by Jason Martorell Parsekian
Disclaimer The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the individual guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of The FMCG Guys (Dwyer Partners SL) or its partners. The FMCG Guys make no representations or warranties about the accuracy, completeness, or suitability of any information discussed, and accept no responsibility for any decisions or outcomes based on this content. Listeners are encouraged to seek their own professional advice before acting on any of the topics covered.

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/HXKeEQCrOa0
Catalina Salazar is the Global Senior Director of Retail Media at Wolt, a leading Rapid Delivery company in Europe and part of DoorDash and Paul Dahill is the MD of Sales EMEA at Koddi, one of the top Commerce Media Technology companies. We spoke with them at the show floor during Shoptalk Europe to discuss how they are working together to simplify retail media buying. From how the partnership enables brands and agencies to access Wolt's sponsored product inventory through the media-buying platforms they already use, to reducing fragmentation and connecting brand campaigns more directly with measurable purchases.
Tune in to hear about
Why retail media must become easier and more consistent to buy at scale
How Wolt and Koddi are connecting commerce inventory with major demand-side platforms
Why collapsing consumer journeys are bringing awareness and conversion closer together
The complexity of operating across multiple European markets, currencies and languages
Why Germany was selected as the first market for the collaboration
How simpler integrations, connected measurement and automation could shape the future of commerce media
More
See Paul's other appearence on the podcast: https://www.fmcgguys.com/paul-dahill/ 
Audio Mixing by Modest Ferrer
Voice Acting by Jason Martorell Parsekian
Disclaimer The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the individual guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of The FMCG Guys (Dwyer Partners SL) or its partners. The FMCG Guys make no representations or warranties about the accuracy, completeness, or suitability of any information discussed, and accept no responsibility for any decisions or outcomes based on this content. Listeners are encouraged to seek their own professional advice before acting on any of the topics covered.

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/LyXPFD3e7JU
Rani Al Hajji is Unilever's Chief Growth and Transformation Officer for Personal Care, overseeing iconic brands like LYNX/AXE or Rexona/Sure. He joined Efrain and Daniel live at our Residénce in Cannes on June 23rd to speak to the audience (now extended to all our listeners) about his view on Marketing as a full-funnel proposition, authenticity, the talk of the town during the festival, creators, trends and more.
 Tune in to hear about:
Creators, the most popular topic in Cannes 2026
Why relevance and distinctiveness matter more than simple brand visibility
How Dove, Rexona and Axe are activating around the FIFA World Cup
What should actually be a priority for Marketing Leaders
How he's working around their key brands to engage with consumers and get people's attention
His view on Retail Media and how Brands and Retailers partner more closely
The impact of AI on product discovery and purchase and creativity
More
Audio Mixing by Modest Ferrer
Voice Acting by Jason Martorell Parsekian
Disclaimer The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the individual guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of The FMCG Guys (Dwyer Partners SL) or its partners. The FMCG Guys make no representations or warranties about the accuracy, completeness, or suitability of any information discussed, and accept no responsibility for any decisions or outcomes based on this content. Listeners are encouraged to seek their own professional advice before acting on any of the topics covered.