John is passionate about bringing suppliers & retailers closer together, to work pragmatically towards better joint commercial outcomes. John’s expertise has been garnered in senior Sales /Marketing roles with major blue chips like the Coca-Cola Company, & nearly 20 years of research /consulting experience culminating in his current role as global CEO of Advantage Group International. John co-founded Real World Marketing in 2006, with a view to providing practical support for clients from opportunity identification, through to execution & benefit realisation. The idea behind Real World is in the title. Too often consultants are criticised for developing theoretical solutions, that are not implemented. John’s vision for Real World was for a team of subject matter experts that work alongside clients; navigating towards joint value creating outcomes; as a trusted extension of their cross functional teams. In John’s words: “I’m most proud of the partnerships we’ve built. An invitation back is the biggest compliment a client can give. We have retained our first ever client, & continue to work with an ever expanding list of blue chip brands. Real World’s ability to create end to end, win /win outcomes is a testament to the team we’ve put in place”.

Mark’s extensive experience includes senior roles like Category and Customer Director with businesses like Mondelez, SCA Hygiene, and Unilever; in Australia and the UK. Mark finds fulfilment in actively partnering with clients to solve complex problems; and foster alignment among stakeholders toward a common agenda. Mark is skilled in distilling complex issues down to identify what’s really important, thinking strategically to inform better commercial choices, and storytelling to influence the adoption of recommendations. He has a passion for building longer term partnerships with clients to deliver enduring organisational change agendas. One of the early architects of strategic category management approaches in Australia, Mark remains a passionate thought leader in the area of Category Development; & how category thinking can enhance broader sales & marketing practices. Mark also specialises in optimal Organisation Design, Customer Engagement & Joint Business Planning.

David has held senior positions such as Head of Category, Head of Revenue Growth Management and Customer Director, working with leading companies like Mondelez and Campbell Arnotts in Australia. David thrives on the range of experiences faced in his work, Given the diversity of client briefs, unique category dynamics & distinctive business cultures; there’s always a new challenge just around the corner. David excels at developing and applying industry leading analytical techniques, to identify new opportunities in both data rich & data poor environments. David’s Customer expertise ensures his great strength in strategy is underpinned by actionable, execution ready recommendations. David specialises in Revenue Growth Management, with an emphasis on how RGM informs and enables broader business strategies (leveraging future facing, not just retrospective insights). While he leads Real World’s RGM offer, Joint Business Planning & driving better integration between Revenue /Category Management approaches; are also key focus areas.

Simon’s most recent role was as Sales Director of General Mills ANZ, but he has a wealth of senior experience at Marketing Director, Category Development Head & Account Director; with Mondelez, Cadbury, Kraft & Unilever. Simon is passionate about helping clients find solutions to a wide range of challenges in our dynamic industry. He thrives on seeing individuals learn new skills and gain the confidence needed to develop in their careers. Simon is an entrepreneurially minded, pragmatic strategic thinker; who draws on his cross functional experiences and ability develop relationships, to design programs that get executed. Simon’s extensive networks ensure his thinking is always responsive to the latest industry trends & dynamics. Simon is a specialist in organisation design, especially integrated strategic planning, customer engagement & joint business planning. He is also passionate about Learning & Capability development; leading this product stream on behalf of Real World. Simon runs our Sales & upcoming HR Directors Forums, partnering with Six Degrees Executive, tri-annually.

Simon’s extensive experience spans Director level Sales, Category & Buying roles with Diageo, Campbell Arnott’s, Unilever, Sara Lee, Kingfisher Group (Superdrug), Tesco /Tesco Lotus; across the UK, Australia & Asia. Simon draws great energy from bringing cross-functional teams together, challenging them to see new possibilities & helping them enact genuine positive change with their customers. Simon’s is an expert in coordinating cross functional collaboration, towards pragmatic outcomes; with an unrivalled toolkit of facilitation techniques & fit for purpose modalities to draw upon. Simon has guided clients to land Category Growth Strategies with major customers in a variety of markets globally; leveraging his unique combination of senior Sales & Buying experience. This includes leading joint working projects between leading Suppliers & Retailers.

Jonathan brings a wealth of experience from roles such as Innovation Director and Group Marketing Manager, representing major companies like Diageo and Unilever across Australia and the UK. Jonathan loves the continuous learnings he gains from breakthroughs achieved in the projects he is leading. This is especially true when a client sees ‘proof of concept’ via successfully implementing a project initiative. Jono brings a relentless curiosity and extensive experience in strategy development to his projects, earning a reputation for visionary thinking. This helps him break down problems using fresh approaches, to develop genuinely new & different thinking. Jono is a thought leader in maximizing innovation, portfolio &/or brand strategies; to unlock category growth opportunities & create joint value with retailers. He is passionate about setting up for ongoing success through better & more efficient integrated strategic planning practices. Jono runs our Marketing Forums partnering with Six Degrees Executive, quarterly.

Dominique has held significant roles, such as Category and Shopper Director, at major companies like Accolade Wines and PepsiCo, working across Australia and the UK. Dominique loves helping companies find, understand, and articulate insights, transforming them into strategies and executions that deliver commercial returns. Dominique is a highly skilled, data driven, strategic thinker who always ensures her clients achieve measurable success. Her ability to balance deep analytic rigour with smart hypothesis led efficiency; generates powerful new strategy, that is easy to execute for joint value for her clients & their customers. Dominique possesses a deep passion for deriving insights that drive commercially compelling strategies and articulating the pivotal role of brands in fostering category growth. Key strengths include expertise in category development, integrated strategic planning, and collaborative joint business planning. Dominique runs our Category Development Forums partnering with Six Degrees Executive, quarterly.

David has held key positions such as Category and RGM Lead for major companies like Bega and Kraft, gaining experience in Australia and the UK. David takes pride in helping clients address the challenges he knows all too well in his own supplier experiences, with the added benefit that every problem addressed builds on his own toolkit of solutions. David brings great analytic capabilities underpinned by an unrelenting focus on collaboration, ensuring the voice of the customer is represented at all stages of project delivery. David specialises in category development & revenue growth management, ensuring a strong commercial edge underpins all project work in which he participates.

Nicole brings extensive experience at Category Director and National Account level. She has worked with prominent companies like Naked Wines, Danone Nutricia, Kimberly Clark, and Mars; across Australia, the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa (META). Nicole gains great satisfaction from delivering clients an engaging experience, that also builds their capability; in both consulting projects & training programs. Nicole is a first class analyst who thrives on integrating insights from diverse data sources, in addition to perspectives from cross functional stakeholders; drawing on her own breadth of FMCG supplier experiences. Nicole specialises in category development, omnichannel strategy and point of purchase execution; in addition to being a leader in the design & delivery of the Australian Grocery Academy program in collaboration with the Australian Food & Grocery Council.

Rebecca previously worked as the Head of Category for leading companies like Mars Petcare, Wrigley, Diageo, IRI/Circana, and Shopperpedia; operating extensively in Australia, the UK, and Europe. Rebecca enjoys helping clients achieve better commercial outcomes, challenging them to experiment with new approaches; finding every project an opportunity for growth & new challenges. Rebecca’s extensive research agency experience adds to her analytic strengths ensuring she always keeps consumer /shopper insight at the forefront of her thinking. Rebecca is a leader in the design & delivery of the Australian Grocery Academy program in collaboration with the Australian Food & Grocery Council; & also excels in delivering category development, omnichannel strategy & point of execution projects.