Top Travel Destination
“The Emilia Romagna region in Italy holds a special place in my heart. The region's renowned food, such as Parmesan cheese, Parma ham, and tomato, coupled with its rich culture and warm people, make it a truly unforgettable experience.”
Peering Into the Crystal Ball
Providing a personal touch when interacting with consumers is a critical difference-maker in the current business climate. “Providing best-in-class products and customer service will be essential for success in the increasingly competitive market.”
Comfort Food Go-Tos
“Of course, pasta with Pomodoro sauce — classic comfort that never disappoints!”
Peering Into the Crystal Ball
“Sustainability will continue to be a focus. Brands prioritizing eco-friendly practices and transparency will enhance their reputation and appeal to environmentally-conscious consumers, becoming essential for competitiveness.”
Comfort Food Go-Tos
Poutine is the ultimate go-to for this Montreal native, who never turns down a chance to indulge in crispy fries, rich gravy, and melty cheese curds.
A Little-Known Fact
Rodgers is a Marvel super fan and even named his son (first, middle, and last names) after the Avengers “Big Three”: Thor, Iron Man, and Captain America.
Top Business Milestones
Wong has been instrumental in testing, trialing, and deploying generative AI initiatives at privately-owned alcohol beverage company Mark Anthony Group, helping it stay ahead of the proverbial pack. He credits receiving adequate resources and the personal mandate to help expand and build out their data management and analytics practice. “Too many organizations just want better analytics, but are not willing to commit to the full data lifecycle.” This has allowed him to develop collaborative, integrated, and cohesive data management, engineering, and analytics teams to support the company's various data and analytics needs.
Supporting Growth With Innovation
Wong launched an AI Incubation Program within the company’s data and analytics practice. This enabled his team to execute AI initiatives within sales and marketing, efficiently working through pilot and production phases. They’re now expanding to more use cases across different departments, including supply chain and finance, and global teams. This is supported by a separate agile team that is given the ability to experiment without impacting the current team’s workload.
The Best of Tech
Wong notes that AI cannot exist without information architecture and a commitment to data management technologies, projects, and processes; though critical to the success of all data and analytics projects, they’re often overlooked. “Strong data management practice, process, and technology will accelerate the effectiveness and quality of your AI projects, models, and applications.”
Senior Director of Data, Analytics, and AI Mark Anthony Group of Companies
WONG
Top Travel Destination
Liu loves sitting in a café in Kyoto and focuses on finding calm in the simple things in life. “I appreciate Kyoto’s attention to aesthetics and the Japanese concept of wabi-sabi, which is centered around the acceptance and beauty of imperfection.”
A Little-Known Fact
“As the first generation in my family to attend university, mentorship and sponsorship are relatively recent concepts for children of immigrants. Recognizing the value of networking has made me a champion for developing future leaders through DEI initiatives in the workplace.”
20
24
Top Travel Destination
Italy, thanks to the combination of food, history, and scenery.
Comfort Food Go-Tos
It’s a tie between pizza and sushi: You can enjoy both any time of the day, and there are always new variations to try.
A Little-Known Fact
HGTV lovers may recognize him, as he was once featured on an episode of “Decked Out.”
20
24
By Liz Dominguez and Jennifer Guhl
Discovering New Innovation Pathways
This year’s cohort of Visionaries is a testament to the transformative innovation occurring in the consumer goods industry. These influential leaders have taken charge of powerful implementations and business growth strategies across various business areas, from sales and marketing to supply chain and data infrastructure. They’re ahead of the curve and yet they pursue further breakthroughs and carve the path for new innovation pathways.
Winners were selected based on nominations from their colleagues and partners, as well as from CGT editors. Learn how this year’s group of Visionaries is paving the way for more innovation, introducing new ways to approach the consumer goods business, and transforming complex technology into corporate efficiencies and elevated experiences.
SAM
Years with company and in current role: 2.5 years
FUN FACTS
Top Business Milestones
Embodying a transformative vision, Rodgers has helped develop an innovative omni-marketing team that has reshaped marketing strategies, combining traditional and digital shopper marketing. He has unified the brand marketing and omnichannel teams, enhancing brand visibility and increasing customer engagement across all channels. “By bringing these teams together, we’ve created a seamless shopping experience for our consumers, optimizing both online and offline touchpoints and integrating retail media platforms into our overall media strategies.”
Supporting Growth With Innovation
Innovation is critical to Keurig Dr. Pepper's growth and expansion efforts, and Rodgers is honing in on trialing new retailer enabler platforms and developing partnerships with their customers' media teams. This collaborative approach strengthens retailer relationships and helps drive impactful, data-driven campaigns that resonate with consumers. "By collaborating closely with these teams, we're able to co-create tailored marketing initiatives, leverage unique insights, and optimize our strategies for mutual growth."
The Best of Tech
By strategically integrating AI technology into their marketing ecosystem, Rodgers and his team are enhancing consumer personalization and streamlining the path to purchase. They are also investing in and streamlining the ability to connect online and offline shopping experiences, helping to understand consumer behaviors better, optimize marketing strategies, and deliver personalized shopping experiences across all touchpoints. “These forward-thinking initiatives are crucial for driving growth, boosting customer satisfaction, and maintaining our competitive edge in the marketplace.”
Marketing Director – Keurig Keurig Dr Pepper Canada
Years with company: 8 years
Years in current role: 1 year
RODGERS
RICHARD
FUN FACTS
Top Business Milestones
Charging through adversity within the well-established tomato sauce market, Waimon assembled a team and executed various initiatives, elevating the brand to greater awareness throughout the U.S. “Our people have developed ‘best-in-class’ customer relationships rooted in trust, transparency, and respect.” Waimon believes people provide a rock-solid foundation, allowing Mutti to consistently deliver top-line growth and bottom-line profit through seamless marketplace execution, performance tracking, and pushing the suitable distribution.
Supporting Growth With Innovation
Waimon emphasizes that maintaining and scaling an innovative mindset requires active listening and considering the needs of consumers, retailers, distributors, and, most importantly, your people. “In today’s dynamic operating environment, we maintain an uncompromising vigilance to provide the highest-quality premium products, where our 125-year heritage fuels innovation.”
The Best of Tech
Mutti looks to various forms of engagement, including social media, geo-fencing, and connected TV, to create greater brand awareness. This helps drive more traffic, increase unit conversion, and generate higher profits for retailers, distributors, and food service partners. Waimon is always open to new forms of engagement that can continue to help elevate the brand and make it more prominent within the beloved family cooking tradition in the U.S., especially when it comes to Italian cuisine.
CEO
Mutti USA
Years with company and in current role: 4.5 years
WAIMON
CHUCK
FUN FACTS
Top Business Milestones
As a high-impact business leader combining sales and marketing collaboratively to drive profitable growth, Liu takes great pride in the team she has built, bringing together passionate subject-matter experts dedicated to driving innovation within the company. “I’m fulfilled when I see my team empowered to challenge themselves and try new things. As a leader, my goal is to give each team member opportunities to help them realize their full potential.” She also strives to build equitable teams, advocating for change within the industry, including amplifying voices of color working in marketing.
Supporting Growth With Innovation
Liu believes small optimizations can transform businesses, seeing entrepreneurship and innovation as essential drivers for those looking to sustain and grow their businesses into the future. “I maintain an innovative mindset by embracing a deep sense of curiosity to adopt a cycle of experimenting, failing, and evolving.” She encourages her team to dedicate time for continued learning and reflection, helping to identify continued areas of improvement while increasing impact within the organization.
The Best of Tech
With improvements in areas like machine learning driving greater efficiency and impacting go-to-market strategies, tech integration and honing in on the latest innovations are critical to expanding business operations and profitability. “Integrating tech platforms and ensuring seamless communication among our partners’ systems help us achieve a holistic understanding of our business, especially in the areas of content optimization, retail media performance, and digital shelf measurement.”
Director of Digital Commerce
Ghirardelli Chocolate Company
Years with company and in current role: 3 years
Years in current role: 1.5 years
LIU
JULIE
FUN FACTS
Top Business Milestones
Guiding Walmart’s retail media and omnichannel transformation, Kaur has spearheaded numerous initiatives within Walmart Connect, including formulating a merchant immersion strategy, exploring the monetization of new verticals, building an end-to-end product strategy, and overseeing product operations for in-store advertising. “My key accomplishment lies in consistently bridging the gap between our advertisers, suppliers, merchants, and technology to reinforce the Walmart brand.” She is also a critical part of the Elevating Visionaries in e-Commerce (EVE) group, which supports female leaders and helps amplify their voices within the digital and CPG space.
Supporting Growth With Innovation
Kaur feels individuals are the driving force behind innovation. She prioritizes internal interaction to learn from the experiences of Walmart's diverse talent network. She firmly believes in pushing beyond conventional boundaries to find more profound levels of innovation. "Witnessing the remarkable level of innovation that arises when individuals are empowered to think creatively and embrace a beginner's mindset is truly inspiring."
The Best of Tech
By leveraging advanced analytics and investing in in-store measurement technology, Kaur hopes to revolutionize Walmart’s business operations and enhance the customer experience across various touchpoints. This commitment to innovation allows the retailer to adapt to evolving consumer behavior, optimize store layouts, and fine-tune promotional strategies in real time. “This strategic fusion of technology not only maximizes business performance but also delivers exceptional value, making it a pivotal initiative in our line of business.”
Business Strategy & Product Ops Walmart Connect
Years with company and in current role: 2 years
KAUR
JASLEEN
FUN FACTS
Top Travel Destination
Despite her travels worldwide, Kaur is constantly enchanted by her homeland of India. “There are multiple reasons — family, culture, tradition, vivacity, technological innovation, and fast-paced development that surpass the growth rates of many developed countries.”
Peering Into the Crystal Ball
“In 2024, businesses will prioritize fostering genuine in-person connections and relationships as a core strategy for differentiation in an increasingly digital world. Face-to-face interactions will be valued more than ever, leading to a resurgence of personalized customer service and experiential marketing initiatives aimed at creating memorable and meaningful interactions.”
A Little-Known Fact
Kaur loves Barre and recently became a certified instructor. “There is a unique satisfaction in assisting individuals to enhance their lives and witnessing the tangible outcomes of dedicated efforts on a personal level, and I'm grateful to be a part of this experience.”
Top Business Milestones
As a business leader embracing the transformative power of AI, Khan has utilized the technology to improve consumer experience, drive business goals, and empower team members at The Estée Lauder Companies to achieve more effective deliverables. Assembling his dynamic team has been one of his most significant accomplishments, and he constantly looks to elevate their roles as strategic leaders within the company. "Together, we've established an operating model where insights and intelligence are central in setting the strategy and making decisions that nurture the distinct identities and equities across ELC's diverse portfolio of brands."
Supporting Growth With Innovation
Agility and rapid response are the cornerstones of innovation at The Estée Lauder Companies, helping the company build on its strengths of creativity and imagination in today's unpredictable marketplace. "We're capitalizing on emerging growth areas by fostering a culture where autonomy and empowerment are paramount." The company takes a proactive approach to capitalize on new opportunities and leverage cutting-edge technology to accelerate the innovative mindset of the business. "We're instituting just-in-time learning and decision-making, ensuring our team not only anticipates change, but also leads it."
The Best of Tech
Khan feels generative AI stands out not only as a transformative tech investment, but also unlike any previous technological evolution, poised to impact our world exponentially. “It promises to marry analytics with creativity, bringing together the math and the magic to optimize job execution.” It increases productivity and gives employees the time to engage and think more creatively without getting bogged down by time-consuming menial tasks. “The real value, however, lies in empowering our workforce to harness this technology — by cultivating and teaching the art of asking questions and redefining processes to embed AI in our work, thereby enhancing decision-making and efficiency.”
Senior Vice President – Foresight & Growth Intelligence, Enterprise Marketing & Data The Estée Lauder Companies
Years with company and in current role: 9 years
Years in current role: 3 years
KHAN
RAHEEL
FUN FACTS
Comfort Food Go-Tos
When Khan thinks of comfort food, he thinks of the experience and process of creating meals for and with his three children. “Their honest critiques, whether we're cooking a masterpiece or a mishap, are the secret ingredients that bring me comfort and nourish my soul.”
Top Business Milestones
Thought leader, innovator, and creator of CauliPuffs, the snack brand made from cauliflower, rice, and corn. Rosa and his wife, Thai Lan, officially launched in September of 2023 and are immensely proud of the brand's achievements in a relatively short time, relying on a small but impactful team. Combining innovative design and technology helps support their winning value proposition around healthy, convenient snack options, allowing them to leverage consumer data to guide assortment and brand decisions. The brand launched with significant retailers like Costco, Sprouts, Amazon, and Instacart's delivery platform, a dream for most emerging brands. "Launching with both Costco and Sprouts marks a significant achievement for our family and me." CauliPuffs is quickly expanding and will soon be available on the East Coast at The Fresh Market and in the Midwest at HyVee.
Supporting Growth With Innovation
With the unpredictable market impacting all businesses, Rosa chooses to ignore the noise surrounding the roller coaster-like market and focus on what is within the company's control. "Despite our size, we're quick on our feet. Scaling up and staying innovative means being flexible and tackling problems directly rather than putting them off." His background in technology and design has also been instrumental in driving an innovative omnichannel and go-to-market strategy, helping to position them ahead of others in the snack category and meeting consumers where they are through their solid retail partnerships.
The Best of Tech
CauliPuffs has been focused on growing their retail footprint throughout the brand launch, but they've recently secured warehouse space in their hometown of Salinas, California. This would allow them greater control over DTC channels and shipments while saving on fulfillment costs. In addition to investing in R&D to enhance products and introduce new offerings aligning with consumer preferences, they’re preparing to launch the next iteration of their Shopify website and exploring more online DTC channels and digital innovation.
CEO & Co-Founder
CauliPuffs
Years with company and in current role: 1.5 years
ROSA
JOEY
FUN FACTS
Peering Into the Crystal Ball
“The food industry is clearly rebounding and experiencing unprecedented levels of innovation. Despite the uncertainty of 2022 and 2023, there's a noticeable shift in 2024, with investors and entrepreneurs displaying newfound confidence and readiness to seize opportunities.”
Comfort Food Go-Tos
“Bacon, egg, and cheese with salt, pepper, and ketchup. It's a staple for New Yorkers, and for good reason!”
A Little-Known Fact
A New Yorker living now on California's Central Coast, he has become an avid advanced open-water PADI-certified scuba diver.
Top Business Milestones
Khan's leadership in e-commerce and growth has been characterized by her ability to leverage data capability and provide actionable insights to stakeholders. Her work with L’Oreal’s integrated Amazon data capability has significantly driven actionable insights to the field team. Her support to the supply chain and media teams with optimization opportunities and her collaboration with their Amazon tech team in building an Amazon Marketing Cloud insights roadmap have been crucial. “Bridging the gap to transform enormously large data sets into clear, concise recommendations has been rewarding and impactful. Surfacing a great nugget of insight is like finding gold!”
Supporting Growth With Innovation
Khan attributes L'Oreal's ability to innovate within its products and business operations to its agile mindset and unwavering commitment to its employees' continuous education and development. "Particularly impressive is the authentic support from management to dedicate time to focus on training and upskilling."
The Best of Tech
The right CRM can be a game-changer for CPGs. By leveraging data analysis to gain deeper insights into consumer trends, CPGs can discover innovative ways to communicate and connect with their customers. “The application of 1P data continues to expand and evolve beyond traditional media audience applications.”
U.S. Amazon Commercial Development Lead
L’Oreal
Years with company and in current role: <1 year
KHAN
AISHA
FUN FACTS
Top Travel Destination
“Anywhere I travel with my husband and daughter is a good time.”
Peering Into the Crystal Ball
Khan predicts SQL will be a must-have business skill similar to Excel.
Comfort Food Go-Tos
Creamy pasta Alfredo is her go-to and always hits the spot!
Top Business Milestones
Using global business intelligence solutions, Thekkakara has developed cutting-edge strategies in sales, go-to-market, and marketing for beauty innovator Coty. Through fundamental intersectionality and collaboration, her team has excelled across all business areas, providing innovative solutions to their ever-changing needs. “This has allowed us to break down through silos and develop value-driven analytical solutions that not only fit the business’ needs but also endure over time.”
Supporting Growth With Innovation
Coty prioritizes balancing agility, adaptability, and pragmatism to scale and maintain its overall business operations in today's fast-paced landscape. "Central to our approach is fostering a culture of inclusivity, which embraces collaboration and provides learning opportunities to stay abreast of emerging global trends." The company is testing innovative solutions that scale globally, increasing value and encouraging future innovation growth.
The Best of Tech
Thekkakara believes that strengthening the foundation of data architecture to fully harness data analytics and advancing generative AI capabilities will significantly impact the industry over the coming years. “At Coty, we continue to carry out relevant experimentation and exploration of leveraging AI across various business use cases while concurrently incorporating the necessary oversight to uphold our stewardship responsibilities.”
Global IT Director BI Sales & Marketing
Coty
Years with company: 5 years
Years in current role: 8 years
THEKKAKARA
KAVITA
FUN FACTS
Top Travel Destination
Canada’s Rocky Mountains are a highlight. “The landscape of the region is breathtaking, and I recommend visiting any of the glacier lakes at dawn to witness a magnificent spectacle of natural beauty.”
Comfort Food Go-Tos
Thai red curry with jasmine rice.
A Little-Known Fact
She loves the planning process involved with traveling and even picks out a book set in the region to help her immerse herself in the landscape and culture.
Top Business Milestones
Morikawa focuses on balancing disruption and innovation, making her a true innovator in the field. When her company wanted to replace their legacy ERP system to SAP S/4 HANA, Morikawa led the company to complete the migration in eight months after an initial 3.5-year struggle. Barriers to success — including inadequate communication, viewing the project as an IT rather than enterprise project, and needing a clear scope of work and implementation plan — had stopped the company from completing the initiative. She quickly implemented a plan to rectify the roadblocks, including status transparency and repositioning project members based on the responsibility assignment matrix.
Supporting Growth With Innovation
While innovative thinking creates new ideas and technology can bring them to life, the two cannot stand alone in addressing issues without an innovative mindset. “In any environment, it is important to build an organizational culture and processes that support innovation, embrace imagination, arouse curiosity, or even take risks in order to cultivate an innovative mindset.”
The Best of Tech
AI is transforming business operations, expanding capabilities greater than digital transformation (DX) ever could. DX takes a step-by-step approach to transform traditional operations, while AI can quickly jump to a specific goal. “Taking an example of FAQ chatbots, we used to define and refine the answers to questions for the bots, where AI LLM is capable of producing a large number of valid questions along with the answers if we feed the respective data.”
Executive Officer, CIO, Head of IT Division
Nishimoto
Years with company: 1.5 years
Years in current role: 1 year
MORIKAWA
HIROMI
FUN FACTS
Top Travel Destination
She loves returning to her hometown, where she grew up and where her parents are from. “It is a gift to be at home and with all my family.”
Comfort Food Go-Tos
Morikawa enjoys combining a hot cup of café au lait with a Butterfinger candy bar.
A Little-Known Fact
She can read Tarot and has been a professional card reader for more than 20 years.
Top Travel Destination
Rodgers calls Miami his happy place, noting its stunning blend of Art Deco architecture, music, and pristine beaches. “From Wynwood's street art to taking in the sun in South Beach, Miami has a dynamic and diverse experience that always leaves me feeling good!”
Top Travel Destination
For the last decade, Rosa has traveled as a co-leader for Dawning.org, focusing on citizen photojournalism and leadership. During those travels, Vietnam was a favorite because of its vibrant food scene and a strong sense of community.
Top Business Milestones
Frost has played a critical role in helping transform Kraft Heinz from the inside out, and she credits working collaboratively with various business partners to help them succeed. Driving growth for Kraft Heinz’s 200+ iconic brands, she has been instrumental in keeping the company on track to achieve $2 billion in incremental net sales by 2027, and innovation has been the primary driver. "We're heading into a new chapter of growth, and in my role, I look forward to continuing to tackle how we can consistently scale brand creativity and innovation globally in order to deliver business impact."
Supporting Growth With Innovation
Frost noted that Kraft Heinz has shifted its growth mindset throughout the organization, including its approach to innovation and the risks it is taking. Using its Agile@Scale methodology, Kraft Heinz keeps itself as nimble as a startup while being the well-known global company that it is. This allows the company to maintain and scale innovation no matter what today’s business climate has in store.
The Best of Tech
“As part of our growth strategy, we are focused on technology-led investments that enable us to move with speed and agility as well as deliver value for our customers and consumers not only based on where they are today but where they’ll be in the future.” Some of their latest tech innovations include Lighthouse, which uses AI to predict elements that could impact their supply chain; 360Crisp, a disruptive platform that delivers crisp products from the microwave that consumers traditionally only get on the stove; and Heinz Remix, a sauce dispenser that allows users to customize their sauce choices.
Global Chief Growth Officer
Kraft Heinz
Years with company: >3.5 years
Years in current role: <1 year
FROST
Diana
FUN FACTS
Top Travel Destination
She adores the Eastern Townships of Quebec, where her parents met and married. “We have a family reunion there every year, and it’s unbelievable to see my two daughters love it the way I do.”
A Little-Known Fact
Most people are unaware that she used to be a wedding singer. “Yes, like Adam Sandler, for the ’90s movie fans out there.”
Top Business Milestones
Dhaul has created a high-performing, business-oriented global data and AI organization to support Kenvue as a digital-first enterprise. He’s cultivated and engaged industry-leading experts to grow his team, including technical specialists in data engineering, data science, ML, generative AI, intelligent automation, and emerging technologies. The company previously lacked a globally scaled central organization that oversaw a cross-functional data strategy or developed advanced predictive capabilities. They’ve now improved the quality of critical enterprise data and generated significant P&L value via AI solutions by enabling growth and organizational productivity.
Supporting Growth With Innovation
Dhaul promotes a business culture that values agility and continuous improvement. “We have instilled behaviors emphasizing an outside-in focus, an owner’s mindset, and a daring spirit!” Kenvue supports upskilling their teams in the latest data science, AI, and other related disciplines while also forming partnerships with organizations like the Data & Trust Alliance and universities to connect with other industry leaders.
The Best of Tech
Focusing on modernizing data and technology infrastructure promotes agility for Kenvue’s digital enterprise, improving its approach to customer experience. To support that, Dhaul stresses the importance of investing in data management and integration, AI/ML, cloud computing, digital and marketing technologies, and IoT and smart manufacturing to sustain business operations into the future. “Additionally, we will continue to see investments in analytics and insights and continue to shift to near real-time information to sense and predict our business.”
SVP, Global Data Excellence & Applied AI
Kenvue (formerly J&J Consumer Health)
Years with company: 24 years
Years in current role: 2.5 years
DHAUL
AJAY
FUN FACTS
Top Travel Destination
Dhaul loves the sunny beaches and tropical climate of the Caribbean Islands. “We have spent lots of family time, especially raising our two boys on the sandy beaches, and have several fond memories of our holidays!”
Peering Into the Crystal Ball
Dhaul sees a combination of intelligent automation and generative AI taking the industry by storm, resulting in augmented automation. "Businesses will use AI-driven technologies more widely and grow what have been experimental projects. I also foresee more development of ‘customized’ co-pilots!”
Comfort Food Go-Tos
Butter chicken (“spicy!”) with naan bread
A Little-Known Fact
Dhaul is an avid squash player and has become obsessed with hot (Bikram) yoga, which he discovered during the pandemic.
