PEOPLE
Our Team
We have built a team that combines the essential cross functional know how needed for category based work.Simon Ford - Partner
Simon is the leader of the Insight Application and Retail Strategy across FMCG as well as retail companies in the region.
Simon joins us from Tesco in the UK, where he was Head of Market Research for the last 6 years. He was responsible for developing and implementing their shopper based corporate strategy and consulting internally through the organization to ensure its application. In particular, he ensured the Shopper Plan formally led all other business plans and informally ensured non shopper-savvy operational teams stayed focused.
Highlights from his time at Tesco include refocusing the business on their availability strategy, driving operational and staffing change around processes and budget requirements. Simon developed a new corporate ranging strategy across the business and led the shopper based business case for the Convenience (Express) store growth explosion in recent years. More recently, he built the 5th segment to Tesco corporate strategy, based on Corporate Social Responsibility.
He began his career at Millward Brown research agency in the UK, after graduating from Cambridge with a Masters in Economics. At Millward Brown he drove the Insight strategy for large blue chips such as Guinness and Reckitt & Colman, through brand and advertising consumer research. He designed the 4As Guinness consumer loyalty model and 9 box Reckitt & Colman advertising pre-testing model, both adopted globally. Simon also developed the Guinness account into sub-Saharan Africa – a first for the agency.
Simon’s expertise therefore lies in putting consumer needs at the heart of a business plan through the application of consumer and shopper insight into tangible business action. Having worked at the heart of retail strategy and their application to category, he provides the retailer perspective on relationships with manufacturers and can assist towards successful collaborative relationships.
Roger Jackson - Managing Partner
Roger specializes in consulting on category management strategy, marketing strategy and shopper research with a particular interest in building strategy on powerful insights.
He has consulted with a diverse selection of leading companies including Campbells Arnotts, Sony, Coles, National Foods, Sarah Lee, and Goodman Fielder in business strategy, category strategy, brand positioning, and customer management.
Roger has facilitated training workshops at a basic and advanced level in category and customer management in Australia and in the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore.
Roger has developed global best practice content in these fields and has also developed new research methodologies and applications in the field of category and shopper insight.
Prior to moving into consulting ten years ago, Roger held senior Marketing and Sales roles in Unilever, Kraft Foods and United Biscuits in the UK.
Roger has a BSc in Chemistry, and MBA and is a member of both the MCIM and MMRS.
John McLoughlin - Managing Partner
John brings a unique combination of blue chip brand experience, front line sales and category and marketing knowledge. He has 17 years sales, marketing and category experience and an MBA from Macquarie Graduate School of Management. John’s career began his native UK in 1989, where he moved from Sales Rep to Regional Account Manager at Rothmans UK.
John brings a unique combination of blue chip brand experience, front line sales and category management and marketing knowledge. He has 19 years sales, marketing and category experience and an MBA from Macquarie Graduate School of Management. John’s career began his native UK in 1989, where he moved from Sales Rep to Regional Account Manager at Rothmans UK. From there John transferred overseas and worked in various international markets in general management before joining The Coca-Cola Company in 1995.
At Coca-Cola John was initially responsible for leading Customer Business Development, then developing Coke’s Category and Channel Marketing Strategy, after which he lead the Innovation function before moving into marketing and General Management.
In his most recent role at Coke John was responsible for leading Coke’s Non-Carbonated Business Unit. With the primary goal of broadening Coke’s beverage portfolio John led category entry and innovation strategies that helped to achieve No 1 or two market positions in Water, Sports, and Ready to Drink Teas and to successfully enter the highly competitive Juice market.
Paul Bull - Partner
Sydney based Paul Bull is a Director of both Real World Marketing and Advantage Group Asia Pacific. Advantage Group are the Australian arm of the world’s only global CPG sales and marketing benchmarking company. Advantage Group provides suppliers and retailers with objective, robust comparative performance data to improve commercial relationships and results.
Advantage Group has been established for 18 years and work across 19 countries. Within Advantage Group Paul is the lead Director responsible for Away From Home, Convenience, Food Service and Licensed Channels.
Real World Marketing are a specialized consultancy firm working in the manufacturer and retailer space focused on creating joint value utilizing shopper and consumer insights. Real World Marketing specializes in strategic category management, innovation and brand strategy and collaborative customer joint business planning. Paul currently works with Kimberley Clark, Kraft and Sony.
Paul has 13 years FMCG experience gained in Australia and the UK. Paul has significant experience gained in a wide variety of business cycles and situations with broad based experience in multiple markets and channels. He has worked in most Sales roles including Field Leadership, National Account Management, Category, Grocery, Impulse and Away From Home across major branded and retailer branded businesses. Paul began his career with Kellogg's in the UK where he worked for eight years culminating in leading the business teams on the Tesco and J.Sainsbury businesses. Post completing his MBA from Manchester Business School he joined Campbell’s UK as Customer Director for the UK Supermarkets customers. In 2005 Paul came to Australia where he was Sales Director for Arnott's SnackFoods before heading up the Away From Home team for Campbell Arnott’s responsible for Biscuit, Snacks and Soup. During this time Paul was the Supplier Board representative serving on AACS (Australian Association Convenience Stores).
Jason Beikoff - Associate Partner
Jason brings over 20 years of Australian FMCG experience across all channels, specialising in best practice sales processes, sales execution and category management.
Jason's past experience incorporates Directorship positions with Campbell's / Arnott's and Coca - Cola Australia. Within the position of Sales Director at Arnott's, Jason led the organisations establishment of the non-grocery business, establishing: structures, teams, processes, BPPC plans (Brand, Pack, Price, and Channel) and new business relationships. As Sales Director - Retail, Jason lead the National Business teams leveraging his 8 years of National Business Management expertise.
As the Customer and Channel Marketing Director for Coca - Cola Australia, Jason was charged with company strategy for all channels including grocery, convenience, leisure, HORECA (Hotel, Restaurant, Cafe), Vending as well as leading the Global Account teams within Australia (McDonald's, Cinemas etc). Within this role Jason oversaw some of the biggest product launches in Australian retail history as well as establishing the first specialist, category management team within the Coca Cola system's region. During this time Coca-Cola also activated the Rugby World Cup in 2003, one of the biggest events in Australia in recent history.
Jason's passion lies within structural alignment of organisations to integrate core insights, category plans, aligned customer plans and execution to achieve outstanding retail presence at the point of purchase.
