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Hi, I’m Henry Thomson, a strategic and commercially minded Brand Manager with eight years’ experience building brands across beverages and food. I started my career in New Zealand and spent the past two years in the UK, leading brand strategy and execution across European markets for Sazerac. I’m now permanently relocating to Sydney to drive strong commercial and brand outcomes locally. I thrive in fast-moving environments, bring clarity and pace to complex challenges, and excel at storytelling to translate consumer insights into actionable growth. I enjoy collaborating across marketing, sales, and agency partners to deliver tangible results and build teams around shared goals.…Hi, I’m Henry Thomson, a strategic and commercially minded Brand Manager with eight years’ experience building brands across beverages and food. I started my career in New Zealand and spent the past two years in the UK, leading brand strategy and execution across European markets for Sazerac. I’m now permanently relocating to Sydney to drive strong commercial and brand outcomes locally. I thrive in fast-moving environments, bring clarity and pace to complex challenges, and excel at storytelling to translate consumer insights into actionable growth. I enjoy collaborating across marketing, sales, and agency partners to deliver tangible results and build teams around shared goals.

Henry Thomson

Creative Director, Brand Strategist, Brand Designer, +4

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Hi, I’m Henry Thomson, a strategic and commercially minded Brand Manager with eight years’ experience building brands across beverages and food. I started my career in New Zealand and spent the past two years in the UK, leading brand strategy and execution across European markets for Sazerac. I’m now permanently relocating to Sydney to drive strong commercial and brand outcomes locally. I thrive in fast-moving environments, bring clarity and pace to complex challenges, and excel at storytelling to translate consumer insights into actionable growth. I enjoy collaborating across marketing, sales, and agency partners to deliver tangible results and build teams around shared goals.…Hi, I’m Henry Thomson, a strategic and commercially minded Brand Manager with eight years’ experience building brands across beverages and food. I started my career in New Zealand and spent the past two years in the UK, leading brand strategy and execution across European markets for Sazerac. I’m now permanently relocating to Sydney to drive strong commercial and brand outcomes locally. I thrive in fast-moving environments, bring clarity and pace to complex challenges, and excel at storytelling to translate consumer insights into actionable growth. I enjoy collaborating across marketing, sales, and agency partners to deliver tangible results and build teams around shared goals.

Available to hire

Hi, I’m Henry Thomson, a strategic and commercially minded Brand Manager with eight years’ experience building brands across beverages and food. I started my career in New Zealand and spent the past two years in the UK, leading brand strategy and execution across European markets for Sazerac. I’m now permanently relocating to Sydney to drive strong commercial and brand outcomes locally.

I thrive in fast-moving environments, bring clarity and pace to complex challenges, and excel at storytelling to translate consumer insights into actionable growth. I enjoy collaborating across marketing, sales, and agency partners to deliver tangible results and build teams around shared goals.

Skills

Experience Level

Expert

Expert

Expert

Intermediate

Intermediate

Intermediate

Language

English

Fluent

Work Experience

European Brand Manager, Shooters & Small Format Portfolio at Sazerac UK

May 1, 2025 - Present

Lead the brand portfolio across Europe, overseeing brand strategy, execution and AOP delivery across multiple markets. Built and led end-to-end FY26 brand plans across the portfolio, including NTW launches (99, Grind) and the Mango Shotta brand; secured Global SLT sign-off. Initiated and led Europe-wide creative and positioning reset for 99 assets to better align with European consumers; secured Global SLT approval.

Lead & Assistant Brand Manager, BuzzBallz at Sazerac UK

February 1, 2024 - April 1, 2025

Developed a five-year growth strategy for BuzzBallz; defined long-term ambition and secured alignment from local and global sales and marketing leadership. Led end-to-end brand acceleration, driving awareness from 5% to 32% in nine months and establishing BuzzBallz as one of the fastest-growing RTDs in the UK. Built a five-year growth plan, a tied investment model, and a 25-asset POS toolkit. Directed the brand’s first pre-filled FSDU and steered cross-functional execution to deliver rapid impact.

Brand Manager, Gregg’s Sauce & I Love PieS at Walter & Wild NZ

July 1, 2022 - July 1, 2023

Owned brand strategy and execution for Gregg’s Sauce & I Love PieS; delivered +27% value growth and increased brand penetration by +2.5 percentage points. Launched Gregg’s 50% Less Sugar Ketchup, outperforming forecast, and led a profitability reset for I Love PieS, improving portfolio margin mix from 25% to 38%.

Brand Manager, Castle Cheese & Lurpak Butter at Hutchinsons NZ

January 1, 2021 - July 1, 2022

Led brand strategy, execution and partner management across the specialty cheese portfolio. Drove +11.8% value growth and category growth of +3%. Launched Castle Pink Pepper, exceeding Q1 RSV targets by A$42k and secured a strategic relocation of Castle that unlocked A$475k RSV through improved visibility and space.

Brand Project Executive, Global Markets (Wine & Beer) at Lion NZ

December 1, 2019 - January 1, 2021

Managed and executed global brand and innovation delivery across the UK, USA, Asia and Pacific markets.

National Account Coordinator (Food stuffs) at Lion NZ

May 1, 2018 - December 31, 2019

Supported national account management across sales, category insight and in-market execution.

Europe Brand Manager, Shooters & Small Format Portfolio at Sazerac

May 1, 2025 - Present

Lead the Europe-wide brand strategy and execution for new-to-world brands alongside the small-format portfolio. Built and led FY26 end-to-end brand plans across priority launches (99 and Grind) and an established brand (Castello Mango Shotta), securing Global SLT sign-off. Initiated a Europe-wide creative and positioning reset for 99, aligning assets with European consumer needs and gaining Global SLT approval. Directed UK go-to-market for 99, translating AOP targets into a clear commercial roadmap across distribution, retail tiering, and sales enablement. Redefined packaging and messaging for Grind to improve shelf impact and category performance. Led end-to-end NPD for 99 Flavours and 99 Sourz/Grind, shaping the business case, pricing, and promotional strategy with cross-functional and global leadership alignment. Created a shop-per-toolk it across new brands with 50+ POS assets for consistent in-market execution. Directed the global shipper redesign across 9 SKUs and drove cross-fun

BuzzBallz Lead & Assistant Brand Manager (Gin, Vodka, Rum) at Sazerac UK

February 1, 2024 - April 1, 2025

Developed a five-year growth strategy for BuzzBallz and secured alignment from local and global sales and marketing leadership. Delivered rapid brand acceleration, driving 300% growth and increasing brand awareness from 5% to 32% in nine months, establishing BuzzBallz as a fast-growing RTD in the UK. Built a brand acceleration plan with a tiered investment model and a road map to sustain growth. Led end-to-end shop and retail activation, including the brand’s first pre-filled FSDU, achieving strong in-market performance. Refreshed key visuals and consumer messaging, producing a cohesive POS toolkit across two sales channels. Directed a global shipper redesign and coordinated cross-functional and global teams to launch on time and with consistency.

Brand Manager, Gregg’s Sauces & I Love Pies at Walter & Wild NZ

July 1, 2022 - July 1, 2023

Led brand strategy, execution, and partnerships for Gregg’s Sauces and I Love Pies. Delivered +27% value growth across Gregg’s and increased brand penetration by +2.5% during tenure. Launched Gregg’s 50% Less Sugar Ketchup, outperforming forecast RSF by +78%. Led a profitable reset for I Love Pies, lifting portfolio margin from 25% to 38%. Led the Castell o Pink Pepper launch, exceeding Q1 RSV targets by A$42k and recognized as a global exemplar. Secured a strategic range relocation for Castell o, unlocking A$475k RSV through better visibility and space. Drove end-to-end shop activation and global packaging/visual updates, ensuring consistent in-market execution.