Brett O’Brien is the Senior Vice President and General Manager of PepsiCo’s Gatorade Performance Portfolio. O’Brien has led the Gatorade and Propel brands since 2012, but grew the company’s portfolio of brands that service athletes to include Muscle Milk and Evolve. His responsibilities across the portfolio include innovation, retail strategy, sports marketing, and integrated consumer engagement programs.
Prior to leading the Gatorade Performance Portfolio, O’Brien oversaw the $5 billion Mountain Dew trademark, AMP Energy, Sierra Mist and Pepsi’s flavored soft drink brands. He found success for Mountain Dew by re-defining the brand’s positioning and shifting the focus of the marketing plan to digital programs. The result was the hugely successful Dewmocracy campaign, which put product innovation in the hands of consumers and used social media to drive awareness and community.
Since joining PepsiCo in 2001, O’Brien has held several other roles including Juice Drink brand marketing, Urban Lifestyle Programming, Pepsi Music and Millennial Initiatives and the Portfolio Energy brands.
Before PepsiCo, he spent four years with Advantage International Sports Marketing (now called Octagon Sports) creating events for the Senior PGA Tour and Lexus Golf Champions for Charity, as well as sports marketing consultation for Northwest Airlines.
O’Brien’s successful and creative track record has earned him honors including being named to Advertising Age’s 40 Under 40 in 2013 and Digital A-List in 2010, a nomination from Brandweek as the “2010 Marketer of the Year” and the recipient of Event Marketer’s 2011 Brand X Award.
A sneaker enthusiast and loyal Boston sports fan, O’Brien graduated with a BA from Georgetown University and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management. He resides in Chicago with his wife and two kids.