[axr] Sales & Marketing Collective: August 2026

Welcome to the August 2026 edition of the [axr] Sales & Marketing Collective

Welcome to the August edition of the Sales & Marketing Collective, from [axr] Recruitment & Search.

Sales and marketing moves split evenly this month at 12 apiece, but the pattern underneath was lopsided. Marketing saw a wave of mid-level brand manager movement - pharma-to-pharma and FMCG-to-FMCG laterals - while sales was shaped by more deliberate team-building. EHPlabs added two senior commercial hires for the second month running (following Steve Caruso's appointment as Global Sales Director in May), and LION picked up both a Brand Manager and a Category Manager. McPherson's was the month's biggest talent exporter, with three departures across marketing, commercial and the C-suite.



Our purpose is to enable great career decisions. If anything here sparks your curiosity about your own career, or how you're building your team, we're always here for a conversation.

Senior Appointments 

• Patrick Kerr joins Masterpet Corporation as Executive General Manager Sales, bringing deep multi-channel experience from his Sales Director role at Manassen Foods and earlier leadership stints at Real Pet Food and Unilever's Out of Home division.
  

Sales & Category Appointments

• EHPlabs continued building out its Australian sales operation, hiring Dean Cormack as Business Manager, Distributor Partners after nearly 20 years at Red Bull - where he grew a $40M distributor channel to $160M - alongside Kye Mulhern as Key Account Manager NSW from FUNDAY Natural Sweets.
• Sarah McKee moves from Quantium to FMCG Analytics as Customer Success Director, broadening her experience in consulting.
• Leigh Donovan brings Saputo and Blue Diamond commercial leadership experience to fresh produce, joining Perfection Fresh as Head of Customer & Category.
• Peter Gason moves from McPherson's, where he led revenue growth management and delivered a $4M EBIT route-to-market transformation, to Blackmores Group as Global TPM Implementation & Adoption Lead.
• In liquor, Sam Nicholas steps into a National Account Executive role at Taylors Wines, having managed the Coles account at Constellation Brands.
• Tim Irvine joins Selleys Cleaning Products as Senior National Account Manager - Woolworths, coming from a National Business Manager role at Natural Beauty Care.
• Nicholas van Bekkum has taken a National Business Manager position at Kinrise, after nearly three years in a similar role at AHM.
• Jade Spencer makes the move from field sales at Masterpet to a National Account Executive - Coles role at Vestacy.
• Daniela Rose joins The Arnott's Group as Category Manager - Savoury Snacks, after cutting her teeth across category and key account roles at Kellanova.
• Matt Lincoln brings Bacardi and Campari analytics experience to beer, joining LION as Category Manager after nearly four years as Business Insights & Analytics Manager at Bacardi.
• Rod Carrasco pivots from BRITA Group, where he was National Account Manager, to Electrolux Professional Group as National Sales Manager - Laundry.
• Michele Burke McNamara joins KG Foods as Senior Account Manager - Ingredients, from a short-term BDM contract at Farm Pride Foods.
  

Marketing Appointments 

• Ryan Miller takes the Head of Shopper AU & NZ role at Haleon, bringing commercial excellence and digital transformation experience from PepsiCo's APAC team.
• Ann-Marie Raza joins Sandhurst as Head of Marketing, after leading the confectionery and chocolate marketing portfolio at Stewart Alexander.
• Michelle Clark brings PepsiCo innovation and shopper marketing experience to oral care, joining White Glo as Marketing Manager after nearly six years across shopper and innovation roles at PepsiCo.
• Ashleigh Sladden moves from digital marketing leadership at Diageo to Chamberlain Group as Consumer Marketing Lead.
• Pete Doran swaps drinks for appliances, leaving a Senior Customer Marketing Manager role at Diageo to join Fisher & Paykel as Marketing Manager.
• Dalia Adler takes the Director of Brand Marketing position at Coach & Kate Spade, after heading up marketing at food-tech startup Vow.
• Jessica Cross steps up from Assistant Brand Manager at Casella Family Brands to Brand Manager - Jack Daniels at Brown-Forman.
• Sophie Morgan joins LION as Brand Manager, adding to the brewer's brand team from Nestlé.
• Peter Napper moves within healthcare marketing, joining Novo Nordisk as Lead Marketing Manager from a paediatrics marketing role at Abbott.
• Alara Aktepe makes a similar pharma-to-pharma shift, moving from Product Manager at Eli Lilly to Brand Manager at Sobi.
• Kate Harper takes an Assistant Brand Manager role at Pernod Ricard, coming from the same level at McPherson's.
• Ethan Chan joins Care Pharmaceuticals as Assistant Brand Manager, from an associate-level role at Key Pharmaceuticals.
  

If you're looking to build your career or your team, reach out. 

Thanks, 

Andrew Cannock 

Director – Sales & Marketing [axr] Recruitment & Search