Debora Koyama is the Global Growth Operations Officer for Unilever, a role created to unlock and accelerate growth opportunities globally. She intersects all Markets, Divisions and Functions, and has been leading the design and implementation of strategic initiatives across three pillars – “Strategy Into Action”, “Performance & Execution” and “Culture”, enabling teams across the organization to accelerate sustainable growth that is purpose-led and future fit.
Prior to that, she was the CMO for Europe at Mondelez (S10bi revenues, #1 region for the company globally), overseeing Strategy, Brand Excellence, Consumer Insights & Analytics, Innovation, Design, Media & Digital Transformation. Her mission was to put marketing back at the centre of the organization to accelerate business growth, inspiring and enabling a community of +500 marketers to unleash 21st century purpose-led growth thru a portfolio of iconic brands.
Debora has a +25-yr international career at global consumer companies including ABInBev, L’Oreal, Kraft and Diageo. She is a change driver, champion of purpose-led growth, social impact, and digital transformation. She is passionate about motivating teams, having led groups in the US, Europe, Brazil, Latin America, and globally.
She has launched several successful, pioneering, global impact and digital initiatives in the past decade. These include the new-to-the-world circular economy initiative Loop for Mondelez’s #1 brand Milka launched at the WEF in Davos 2019; the 1st global ABInBev and Stella Artois social impact campaign with non-profit water.org co-founded by Matt Damon, kicked-off at Sundance Film Festival in 2015 and later aired during the US Super Bowl; and the launch of L’Oreal’s Garnier partnership with recycling company Terracycle in New York city in 2011, expanded to become a multi-brand, multi-year platform globally.
Debora was listed by Adweek50 as one of top leaders in 2020; named in 2019 by Ad Age publication as one of the ‘Women to Watch’ in Europe; and one of the top 100 women in brand marketing in 2018 by Brand Innovators. She holds an MBA from Kellogg School of Management in the US. Debora has Japanese heritage growing up in Brazil, is a US citizen and currently lives in London.