Mark Desbiens

Background

About Mark Desbiens

Passion for building brands and the structure to support them - Opening new or underdeveloped markets - Building, coaching and developing teams - Knowledge and experience sharing - Creating efficiency and growing distribution My basic experience over the past 25 years is summarized by “building and developing branded product”. From developing and launching Baskin Robbins ice cream brand in Russia to launching Sauza tequila and Finlandia vodka to the Romanian & Bulgarian markets, my experience required a macro approach to the issue of brand development. Opening “green field” offices, restructuring existing offices and recruiting, training and constant monitoring / measuring of stake holders was my key task. This resulted in new revenue of over 20 million euros. This experience gave me the knowledge, insight, and stamina to establish my own companies in outdoor advertising and the fashion/sportswear retailing and ultimately providing me a springboard to launch my own brand. This often required finding a market that did not exist prior to my involvement. The early development of online in Central & Eastern Europe presented an opportunity to launch one of the first online platforms for branded clothing in Bulgaria. From CK jeans and Versace to Superdry and New Balance our team developed the market for many internationally known brands. To meet the needs of brand development and the consumer in equal measure I have developed an expertise in creating operational efficiency that supports the goal of growing distribution and effectively meeting the needs of the marketplace. Due to the “green field” nature of my business experience I have often been required to embrace the responsibility of “mentor in chief” Having been the beneficiary of Great coaching over the past 10 years I have developed the skill of sharing knowledge and experience with my staff and business partners. The transferable skills I have developed over the past years could provide a welcome contribution in either a start-up or an existing corporate structure.