Brad Jakeman

Brad Jakeman has a passion for developing category-disruptive innovation ideas and marketing programmes that challenge the statusquo and build famous, world-class brands. As a Senior Advisor and Consultant he now works with Founders, CEOs, Boards and CMOs on innovation, brand building and business models that drive disruption of existing industries and creates new economies.

For the past seven years as President, PepsiCo’s Global Beverage Group, Jakeman led global category strategy, brand building, design, advertising, marketing, innovation and branded content for PepsiCo’s global portfolio of beverages. Under his stewardship, Pepsi unveiled the first-ever global positioning for the brand, enlivened under the “Live for Now” tag-line.

Jakeman is also responsible for building new capabilities at PepsiCo, most notably design and content creation. He appointed PepsiCo’s first-ever Chief Design Officer and built a state-of-the art Design & Innovation Center in downtown Manhattan which is now home to more than 60 of the world’s most talented designers.

In 2017, PepsiCo opened Creators League, the global content development arm of the company that includes a state-of-the-art content studio in New York City. Creators League serves as an internal producer for everything from all-encompassing branded content to brand inspired long- and short form scripted series and films, reality & competition, music recordings, OTT and digital content, distributed across five screens.

During Jakeman’s tenure as President, Global Beverage Group, PepsiCo’s market capitalisation has almost doubled, with beverages being a major contributor to shareholder returns, and innovation contribution as a percentage of net revenue has increased by over 50%.

Jakeman’s hallmark is a passionate belief that innovative, consumer-centric and creatively expressed ideas, integrated within a 360-degree consumer experience, can drive more powerful and engaging brands, which in turn creates an economic multiplier for companies.

Prior to joining PepsiCo, Jakeman was Executive Vice President, Chief Creative Officer & Chief Marketing Officer for Activision Blizzard Inc., the world’s largest videogame and interactive entertainment company. At Activision, Jakeman led all facets of the company’s global marketing functions including media, advertising, design & consumer experience, CRM, consumer insights and digital.

Prior to Activision, Jakeman was Macy’s Inc. Executive Vice President, Marketing charged with revitalizing and re-positioning the Macy’s brand.

Jakeman’s first client-side role was in 1998 when he accepted a newly created position as Managing Director, Global Advertising at Citigroup in New York. At Citi, he led the development team that created the critically acclaimed, and Emmy Award Winning, “Live Richly” brand platform and the Citi Identity Theft Solutions service.