Sarah Millbanks
Marketing director, essential health
Kenvue
Being people-centric is absolutely fundamental for Sarah Millbanks, who is a marketing director for consumer healthcare business Kenvue's essential health division.
This principle of putting people at the centre of all decision-making goes both for how she thinks about her team, and in terms of consumers.
While she believes the pace of change in the marketing industry has been rapid over the past 15 years, she says many things have also remained constant.
“The fundamentals haven’t changed," Millbanks says, adding that a "consumer insight-led strategy, strong execution that meets consumers where they are, and trusted products that deliver for consumers” are as important today as they have always been.
What has changed is how consumers engage with brands, she says, citing her experience in the skincare category (having worked on brands like Aveeno at Kenvue), where consumers still want trusted brands but also look to content creators or 'skininfluencers' for advice.
When it comes to adjusting to these changes, data can be transformational, Millbank suggests. “This creates an incredible opportunity: with more insights than ever, we can turn data into meaningful actions,” she says.
“Find your passion – if it interests you, do more of it.
I love that marketing brings together creative and analytical skills and love using that to problem-solve.”
Millbanks currently leads Kenvue’s essential health category as its “squad director” or marketing director. Before she worked across Kenvue’s brands, she was at Innocent Drinks, and prior to that at Colgate-Palmolive, where she began her career.
Having had no formal marketing training before her first job in the industry, she advises would-be marketers to be curious and embrace any training they’re offered, as well as more informal opportunities to learn.
“My advice would be to go have that coffee chat. People are passionate and so knowledgeable about what they do, so ask the question and be open-minded and eager to learn,” she says.
She is described by her nominator as a “dynamic” marketing leader who has driven “transformative growth” during her time at Kenvue. She is credited with having been instrumental in improving capabilities across the team, which has brought a “significant uplift in energy and team engagement”.
One thing Millbanks says has been crucial in her career so far is finding roles she loves and she advises anyone starting out in marketing to do the same.
“Find your passion – if it interests you, do more of it,” she advises. “I love that marketing brings together creative and analytical skills and love using that to problem-solve, so I’ve always tried to find roles that allow me to bring both of those aspects of the discipline.”
