The change wasn’t loud. It didn’t announce itself. It simply arrived. Swift, subtle, and then suddenly absolute.
One moment, consumers were browsing aisles; the next, an AI engine could visualize how a sofa fits their living room before they’d even closed the tab. In no other sector have expectations, and the businesses serving them, morphed so radically, so fast.
Consider the signals of a new reality:
- AI Acceleration: AI-powered shopping tools helped drive a surge in U.S. online
spending on this year’s Black Friday as just one small example. U.S. shoppers spent a record $11.8 billion online, up 9.1% from 2024 on this day alone. (Source) - Online Behavioral Whiplash: AI-driven traffic to retail sites jumped 805% year-over-year as tools like Walmart’s Sparky and Amazon’s Rufus went mainstream. (Source)
- Tariff-Driven Habits: About 25% of consumers say they now are buying more generic-label products, 23% are using more coupons, 22% are broadening their search for better deals, and 19% report shopping less frequently. (Source)
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TLDR: The very definition of value, of what consumers expect, how loyalty is earned, and why they choose one brand over another has been rewritten almost overnight. Consumer goods and services now operate in a world where digital acceleration, economic crosswinds, and AI-shaped behaviors are transforming the rules faster than leaders can codify them. |
Against this backdrop, a few questions emerge…
What does leadership look like in a world where consumers don’t just buy products, but choose
ecosystems?
Where algorithms shape first impressions, and brand trust can be gained — or lost — in a single tap?
What kind of leader can steward a business when the consumer journey is no longer linear or predictable?
In our work partnering with hundreds of leading consumer businesses, we’ve advised on evolving leadership profiles across a spectrum of categories and business models. The “right” answer always varies by organization and growth goals, yet one truth remains constant: today’s consumer leader must interpret a living, breathing system of human expectations.
Key insight on what type of leaders are emerging
The emerging leader is experience-driven, not product-driven, as the value-creation lens has shifted from product attributes alone to encompass every touchpoint:
- Packaging
- Retail shelf
- Website UX
- Social media
- Customer service & support
- Returns or cancellations
- Post-purchase engagement and delight
In response, consumer-goods stalwarts are borrowing brand-thinking from direct-to-consumer disruptors, while service businesses are embracing product-style rigor. A brand’s relevance and its ability to command loyalty now lives in the experience, not the product.
What this means for hiringWhen vetting executives for consumer roles today, prioritize those who view “ownership” as bigger than balance-sheet P&L (those who see the full consumer journey as their domain). |
Core competencies driving the best consumer leaders
What constitutes the new “must-have” skill set when hiring for top consumer roles? Across recent industry analyses and conversations with sector leaders, six must-have competencies have become unmistakable.
1. Deep category & consumer understanding
What it means: Instinctive fluency in what drives the category from cultural shifts, competitor moves, and micro-trends in behavior.
What to look for: Leaders who translate consumer signals into differentiated strategies; who can articulate not just what consumers are doing, but why — and how that should shape product, experience, and commercial bets.
Digitally-Fluent Decision-Making
What it means: Comfort using data, analytics, and digital tools to make real-time, insight-led decisions across the entire business.
What to look for: Demonstrated use of martech/adtech stacks, test-and-learn approaches, AI-enabled insights, and measurable ROI from digital investments — not just familiarity with dashboards.
Operational Agility & Scale-Up Experience
What it means: Ability to pivot, adapt, and scale initiatives efficiently in fast-changing environments.
What to look for: A track record of scaling brands or service models, leading transformation programs, moving from strategy to execution quickly, and navigating operational complexity without losing customer focus.
Omnichannel Experience Mastery
What it means: Creating and sustaining seamless, integrated experiences across physical, digital, and experiential channels.
What to look for: Leaders who can unify e-commerce, retail, service, marketing, and product teams; who understand customer journeys end-to-end; and who deliver consistency in brand and experience regardless of channel.
Commercial Mindset Aligned to Business Outcomes
What it means: Connecting every strategic decision to revenue, profitability, market share, and long-term enterprise value.
What to look for: Evidence of P&L ownership, mastery of growth levers, an ability to prioritize based on value creation, and a fluency in translating customer-centric ideas into commercial impact.
Cross & Multi-Functional Leadership
What it means: Leading across disciplines (e.g., product, brand, operations, finance, data, and experience) to drive cohesive execution.
What to look for: Leaders who break silos, build alignment across diverse teams, foster high accountability, and deliver integrated outcomes that reflect the full consumer journey through trust.
Executive Guidance: 3 helpful questions for hiring modern consumer sector leadership
The following questions are intended not as a formula, but as a lens. Use the below as a way to probe whether a leader possesses the depth of insight and empathy your business may require.
Each asks you to consider how a leader truly interprets, influences, and elevates the living system of people, data, and experience that defines today’s marketplace.
1. Can this leader see the unseen?
Beyond dashboards and KPIs, can they perceive the subtle currents of consumer expectation, cultural shifts, and emerging behaviors before they manifest as trends?
Do they sense what the market wants before the market knows it themselves?
2. How do they personally define a superior experience?
They’re consumers, too. Can they feel the friction points, delight moments, and emotional nuances of the experiences they create?
3. Can they embrace paradox?
Can they simultaneously drive growth and sustainability, scale rapidly while preserving intimacy, or innovate boldly without losing the core essence of the brand?
The new archetype: maestro, not manager
For consumer goods and services businesses, the responsibility is to now identify, elevate, and embed an entirely new archetype. This is the leader fluent in technology, anchored in empathy, and capable of orchestrating complexity with precision and vision — a conductor of people, data, and brand experience at a scale we are still learning together.
Timing. Touchpoints. Interactions. Channels.
Every element is interconnected, forming an experience. And experience is the currency that consumers now pay for, the ultimate measure of a brand’s relevance and resonance.
So. Who will you trust to deliver that experience for your business?
