Rubén Navarro Sánchez

A Japanese running specialist scaling up in EMEA

• Europe sales of about €612M in FY2011/12, up almost 10%.
• Shifting from a globally led structure and strategy to a regional model (EMEA, USA, LATAM, Asia-Pacific and Emerging Markets).
• Taking over distributors and acquiring specialist sports brands, starting with Swedish outdoor brand Haglöfs, acquired for about $130M.
• Very limited direct-to-consumer sales (own stores and online): no own e-commerce, with online sales only through retailers such as Amazon and eBay.

A multichannel, multi-category brand on course for $1B in the region

• EMEA sales up 13% in 2014, with double-digit growth in seven markets.
• Own retail sales, physical and digital, up 37%.
• On track to pass $1B in sales, the goal of its five-year plan.
• Fully operational as one of ASICS' five regions worldwide.

Define a growth plan and turn it into delivered projects

ASICS EMEA was running a long list of transformation projects in parallel, each with its own owner and timeline, and no single view of what mattered most. Most were running over time and over budget, without clear goals or a link to the company strategy. My job was to build that missing capability: the Strategic PMO gave leadership one portfolio, one set of priorities and one way of delivering. Two years later, I moved into corporate strategy, working with the CEO, CFO and CCO on where the next phase of growth would come from.

Best-performing region worldwide, excelling in execution

• Launched ASICS' first-ever e-commerce and, with the retail team, accelerated store openings, moving the brand into direct-to-consumer.
• 96% of strategic initiatives delivered on time and on budget, with 25+ delivered every year.
• Cross-territory, cross-category project governance and a new strategic planning process in place across the region.
• Supported the integration of Haglöfs into ASICS EMEA.

A performance-led giant, starting its shift to sportswear and lifestyle

• Nike, Inc. revenue of $27.8B in FY2014, up 10%.
• Europe run as two geographies, Western Europe ($5.0B) and Central & Eastern Europe ($1.4B), each setting strategy and product offer for its markets.
• A brand built on performance and the male athlete, now betting on sportswear, lifestyle, women and young athletes.
• A $5.7B women's business with a goal of $11B+ by 2020, within a company target of $50B in revenue.

Sportswear-led growth, with women outpacing men

• Nike, Inc. revenue of $34.4B in FY2017, up 8% currency-neutral.
• One centrally led EMEA geography, integrating Western Europe and Central & Eastern Europe.
• Western Europe up 11% currency-neutral, with women's growing faster than men's and Nike Sportswear a nearly $8.6B business.
• A new Consumer Direct Offense: faster innovation, 12 key cities and digital growing from about 15% to 30%+ of revenue.

One brand plan and seamless marketing operations for EMEA

Nike EMEA planned brand and marketing across 10 functions and 6 regions, without one brand strategy or a common way to allocate investment. With ambitious growth targets for the new EMEA region, and brand marketing at the heart of the company's strategy, that had to change. Reporting to the EMEA CMO as a member of the Marketing Leadership Team, my job was to build a brand planning and marketing operations function: new processes, strict budget management, and a redesigned operating model and go-to-market.

A new operating model, beyond marketing

• Defined and implemented Nike's 5-year EMEA brand and marketing transformation strategy.
• Brought product, commercial and marketing together under a new Integrated Brand Alignment process.
• Led EMEA marketing for the Rio 2016 Olympics across 14 countries.
• Led the European launch of HyperAdapt 1.0 (€3.9M net revenue; 100% sell-through).

A flagship sport losing momentum, as the game moved beyond the pitch

• Nike Brand Football revenue of about $2.0B worldwide in FY2017, down for a third year running (−4% currency-neutral).
• Europe at $7.7B in Nike revenue, with Western Europe up 11% currency-neutral, about to be reorganized as one EMEA geography.
• A new Consumer Direct Offense, launched in June 2017: faster innovation, key cities and a shift toward Nike Direct and digital.
• A 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia ahead, with Adidas as the tournament's official sponsor.

A $9B+ EMEA region, with Nike leading in its key cities

• EMEA revenue of $9.8B in FY2019 (+11% currency-neutral) and $9.3B in FY2020, holding almost flat (−1%) through COVID-19.
• Nike the #1 football brand in all five key EMEA cities in FY2019.
• Football EMEA a $1.2B category growing at +10% CAGR, with women's football on the rise and Nike dressing 14 of the 24 teams at the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup.
• Nike Direct at $12.4B worldwide, with digital sales up 47% in FY2020.

Grow the category and win the culture

Football was one of Nike's largest categories in EMEA, but it was losing momentum globally, and young consumers were living the game as much on the street and on screens as on the pitch. My job was to define the category's growth, brand and go-to-market strategy across 30+ countries, turn the 2018 FIFA World Cup into share gains, and reach new audiences: women, street culture and gamers.

Category leadership consolidated, and new audiences won

• Consolidated category leadership through the 2018 FIFA World Cup, across 20 European countries.
• Launched 25+ club kits every season, and Nike's new Phantom boot franchise, across EMEA.
• Drove +30% growth in women's football and +40% growth in digital engagement.
• Built Nike's first Esports & Gaming capability in EMEA, lifting Gen Z engagement by 30%.

A challenger energy brand, newly inside a $70B food and beverage giant

• Rockstar acquired by PepsiCo in 2020 for $3.85B, PepsiCo's largest deal since SodaStream in 2018.
• The world's #3 energy drink, with about 10% of the global market, behind Red Bull and Monster.
• Founded in Las Vegas in 2001 and sold in 30+ countries, with a 16 oz can at the heart of its proposition.
• PepsiCo net revenue of $70.4B in 2020, with energy a strategic gap: its own energy brands held about 2.5% of the US market.

Energy at the center of PepsiCo's beverage strategy

• PepsiCo net revenue of $86.4B in 2022.
• Rockstar Energy at the center of PepsiCo's beverage strategy across all European markets, with a significant increase in market penetration and distribution.
• PepsiCo a real challenger in energy, with a no-sugar proposition and Rockstar Energy at the forefront of its energy portfolio.
• A European marketing team of 30+ running one shared plan across 20+ markets.

Integrate an acquired brand and scale it across Europe

Rockstar arrived at PepsiCo as a US brand with an action-sports heritage, competing against two category leaders with far bigger budgets, Red Bull and Monster. It needed a clear positioning inside PepsiCo's portfolio, a European growth roadmap, and bottlers and cross-functional teams across 20+ markets aligned behind one plan. It also needed to disrupt the category, breaking its norms and serving consumers on their own terms. As de facto CMO for Europe, my job was to build all of this, while growing the business from year one.

Growth from year one, and a new Rockstar Energy across Europe

• Delivered +30% net revenue growth in the first full year under PepsiCo, reaching $130M in Europe in 2021.
• Created "Fuel Every You", the brand's first European platform, later adopted in APAC, the Middle East and LATAM (+35% consideration; +28% unaided awareness).
• Led a new liquid, portfolio and packaging (2021), and the no-sugar Rockstar Refresh range.
• Coordinated Rockstar Energy's integration into PepsiCo's UEFA Champions League sponsorship.

A Spanish success story, funded to grow across Southern Europe

• 2022 revenue of €71.6M, up 39%.
• €81M Series G in January 2023 at a €771M valuation, led by Naver.
• Low market share and few active users in Italy and Portugal, with a different brand proposition in each market.
• Shipping (Wallapop Envíos) as the main revenue engine, alongside paid visibility services.

Growing revenue, break-even in Spain, and a full acquisition by Naver

• 2024 revenue of €101M, up 13%.
• Losses down 18% to €25M, with break-even in Spain for the first time.
• 19M+ monthly users across Spain, Italy and Portugal.
• Naver agreeing in 2025 to take full ownership of Wallapop, acquiring 100% from the other investors.

Differentiate the brand and grow it profitably beyond Spain

Wallapop aimed to become the sustainable alternative to Amazon, competing not just with other resale platforms but with buying new. Yet it was barely known in Italy and Portugal, and growth in every market relied heavily on performance marketing. My job was to professionalize the marketing organization, define one Group brand strategy across the three markets, and build a brand that was culturally relevant and desirable, not just useful, while making every euro of marketing work harder.

One of the strongest brands in the region, and a growing business in every market

• Launched Wallapop's first-ever brand platform across Spain, Italy and Portugal (+52% awareness and +12pp share in Italy and Portugal).
• Grew brand equity by 40% and net revenue by 13% in 2024, contributing to break-even in Spain and an 18% cut in group losses.
• Advertiser of the Year at the 2024 Inspirational awards, and Gold for brand building at the Premios Eficacia.
• Increased marketing ROI by 30% and cut incremental cost per user by 43%.

One of the world's largest music festival groups, newly owned by KKR

• Founded in 2017 with Providence Equity Partners, growing by acquiring independent festivals from their founders.
• Acquired by KKR in June 2024 at a reported €1.3B valuation, entering a new phase of transformation focused on electronic music IPs such as Sónar, elrow and Monegros.
• 80+ festivals across 10 countries and £698.9M in revenue in 2024.
• elrow, founded in 2010 by the Arnau family, partnered with Superstruct Entertainment since 2017, alongside the Monegros Desert Festival.

A new business era under KKR, with elrow expanding worldwide

• New CEO appointed in 2025 and both co-founders gone by year-end; the previous leadership team and Superstruct Electronic Music dismantled.
• Sziget, Volt and Balaton Sound leaving the group; Sónar and Brunch Electronik under one leadership.
• elrow and Monegros among the group's fastest-growing IPs, with elrowfamily operating independently in 40+ countries.
• elrowfamily set for its strongest year ever in 2026, in shows (80+), revenue and contribution margin.

Lead the transformation of Superstruct Entertainment's electronic music flagship brands

Superstruct Entertainment hired me to build the marketing behind a new unit uniting its electronic music brands and IPs. When KKR put the unit on hold, the mission focused on its flagships, elrow and Monegros: scaling 80+ events across 40+ countries and new regions needed a sharper brand, a professional marketing organization and a clear link between marketing investment and ticket sales. As CMO and strategic advisor to the founders, my job was to build all three.

A new marketing model, organization and creative engine

• Restructured and rebuilt the marketing organization: 20+ professionals across strategy, content, digital, creative, media, PR and operations.
• Connected brand, event calendar and ticketing in one commercial planning model, behind +40% ticket sales growth in 2025–26.
• Linked marketing investment to ticket demand (CAC −16%; MER from 16.9 to 20.5), and built an AI-first creative model (~100% of graphic, ~50% of video content).
• Retained as strategic advisor to the founders and Board after the CMO mandate ended.