Natalia Ball is the Chief Growth Officer for Pet Nutrition at Mars, home to brands such as Pedigree, Whiskas and Royal Canin. She describes her role as the “orchestrator of growth”, bringing together consumer insights, brand building, innovation and commercial execution to drive results.
In this episode, Natalia joins us to discuss why pet parents so thoroughly research every decision for the “most important member of the family”, how AI is already shaping what they buy, and how brands can build lasting demand through cultural relevance.
Tune in to hear about:
- How the pet care category is changing with consumers increasingly viewing pets as family members
- Why Natalia’s title is Chief Growth Officer and not CMO
- How pet parents are using LLMs to choose food, routines and vets, and how Mars is working to influence AI recommendations
- Why brand building matters as much as performance marketing, and how to make the case to the CFO
- What cultural relevance really means: matching a human truth with a brand truth
- Why briefing teams at the same time allows ideas to come from anywhere
- Letting go of being the expert to create the right conditions for success
