Alex Gonnella has been appointed Group Marketing Director for Nestlé UK and Ireland, effective from 1st September 2022.
Alex joins the company's Leadership Team after five years as Marketing Director for Nestlé Confectionery UK and Ireland. He has played a pivotal role in the success of Nestlé Confectionery's brand portfolio expansion and supported important sustainability commitments, including the move to make all Smarties packaging paper-based, removing approximately 250 million plastic packs sold worldwide every year.
In his new role, Alex will be responsible for leading a high-performing and inclusive marketing team, servicing all Nestlé categories and helping the business achieve its full ambition.
Alex brings with him a wealth of marketing experience, along with exceptional people and commercial leadership skills. He helped shape Nestlé Confectionery into a more inclusive business, supporting people to reach their potential and diversify their skills and experience.
Alex has worked for Nestlé for 17 years, having joined the pet care business Nestlé Purina in 2005. He has held global positions including European Grocery Marketing Director for Purina in Switzerland, as well as a Vice President Generating Demand Asia, Oceania & Africa, based in Australia.
In 2014 he returned to the UK as Head of Marketing for Northern Region Purina, covering the UK and Ireland, the Netherlands and the Nordics, helping Purina UK achieve grocery market share leadership for the first time.
Speaking about his new role, Alex said: "It is tremendously exciting to work in a business that has the breadth and scope of Nestlé, with such great opportunity to make a positive difference to the lives of consumers, shoppers, customers and environment at scale."
"We have amazing people in our business and a clear focus of mine is to create an environment which supports them to thrive and achieve their full potential, whilst focusing relentlessly on the real, external world."
Alex has a degree in Marketing and lives with his wife and family in West Sussex, after settling there when they returned from Australia.