John Mason Email and Phone Number

Marico South Africa (Pty) Ltd, a subsidiary of Marico Limited, is a leading FMCG company that develops and markets haircare, healthcare and baby products in South Africa. Marico’s popular brands include Isoplus, Black Chic, Caivil Just for Kids, Hercules, Just for Baby and Ingwe. www.maricosa.com  Reported to the Chief Operating Officer, Marico Southeast Asia and Africa. Managed 5 direct reports: CFO, Sales Director, Marketing Manager, Operations Manager and HR Manager. Total accountability for the business performance, focusing on NR (net return) and PBT (profit before tax). Sign off on all expenditures, including but not limited to FOH, trade spend, marketing. Work with leadership team to ensure robust new product development pipeline planning. Plan and implement strategies to drive market share growth of key strategic brands. Work with leadership team to build member engagement. Build capabilities of staff and operational functions.ACCOMPLISHMENTS Consistent year on year business growth (sales & profit) Identified and closed a key brand acquisition in 2017 which is currently a major growth driver for the business. Managed the business through the difficult COVID-19 lockdown period, with minimal business interruption and zero job losses. Closed the year with double-digit growth, despite the challenges. Identified cost-saving initiatives, managed prices, and significantly improved profitability. Improved service to the retail sector by outsourcing sales and merchandising, which also increased on-shelf availability and presence. Identified key Sub Sahara Africa export opportunities and built strong export business in Angola.  Achieved a significant increase in net return, gross contribution, EBITDA and PBT, ahead of business expectations.

Marico acquired the Consumer Products Division of Enaleni Pharmaceuticals in 2007. Key Performance Areas Reported to the CEO. Managed 5 direct reports (4 x Regional Sales Managers and a Sales Admin Manager).  Supervised sales and merchandising agencies (regional and national). Initiated systems, processes and policies for discounting and promotional spending. Controlled the sales budget, including trade term budget, ad-hoc sales advertising spend and sales FOH.  Managed and negotiated with national key accounts. ACCOMPLISHMENTS Market leader in the children’s hair care (Caivil Just For Kids) and ethnic styling product categories. Achieved consistent year-on-year top-line sales growth ahead of business expectations, turning the business around from a sales decline with low profit margins to strong double-digit growth with healthy profit margins. Increased on-shelf availability and improved service to the retail sector by outsourcing sales and merchandising. Focused on value-added new product development on key strategic brands.  Improved efficiency, saved costs and contributed to company revenue by consolidating and aligning trade term spends. Consistently analysed the profitability of brands, SKUs and customers, re-evaluating pricing and discounts to manage any areas of concern.

Alberto Culver was an American corporation with international sales, whose principal business was manufacturing hair and skin beauty care products. The South African company manufactured and distributed the well-known brands VO5, Tresemme, TCB, Soft & Beautiful, Just for Me and Motions for retail and wholesale markets in South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa. The business was acquired by Unilever in 2010.Key Performance Areas Reported to the Managing Director, Alberto Culver South Africa. Accountable for sales throughout South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa. Oversaw the fully outsourced sales and merchandising function. Personally managed key account negotiations and trade terms. Appointed as Head of the Ethnic Haircare Division, with full accountability for P&L. This included all sales and marketing spends, pricing, trade terms and FOH. Accomplishments Turned the division around to show consistent double-digit growth and significant profit growth. The brand grew from a turnover of R4 million p.a. to R50 million p.a. with a healthy double-digit PBDIT. Successfully secured major retail chain distribution with Clicks and Shoprite/Checkers to increase on-shelf availability and consumer access to the brand.  Developed a very strong Sub-Saharan export market for key brands.