Juliana Azevedo joined P&G Brasil in 1996, at the age of 21, as an intern in the marketing area. I had a plan in my head. Get the most learning in two years. Then, face the market, consolidate a career and lead an organization. Due to its successes, the planning went wrong. Better for her and for the American health, beauty and hygiene consumer goods company. She was promoted to assistant, became manager, director in Brazil and Latin America, global manager of the brand’s franchise and, in February 2018, assumed the presidency of the company in the country. Today, she commands the 4,000 employees distributed in three factories, one office center in São Paulo and an Innovation Center in the city of Louveira, in the interior of São Paulo. More than that, it defines the direction of the operation for the sale of 1,378 SKUs (Stock Keeping Unit, acronym for each product unit) active in Brazil, spread across more than 20 brands. Among the best known are Ariel, Gillette, Pantene, Oral-B and Pampers. “Over the last five years, we have invested R$ 2 billion to improve our manufacturing technology, develop our Innovation Center and, in fact, have conditions to grow,” the 46-year-old executive told DINHEIRO. The next steps are advances in the areas of medicines and services. “The project for Brazil is constant and long-term,” he said.
From São Paulo in Jardim Europa, one of the city’s finest neighborhoods, Juliana is the only child of parents who are first cousins. With a strong family fabric, he always had as references his great-grandmother, who left Portugal to undertake in Brazil (she was a trader and invested in real estate), her grandmother and her mother, who continued the family business and promoted sports and the arts, his passions, in addition to dedicating himself to philanthropic work. He studied at good private schools, which gave him a solid educational foundation. He matured quickly and, at the age of 13, he started to work, teaching English and translating. He joined the Industrial Engineering course at the Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo (USP), which he combined, for a period, with the Faculty of Law at PUC (Pontifical Catholic University). His first formal job was at a real estate agency, where he did everything. From serving coffee, to helping the financial area, monitoring sales shifts and training brokers. There he discovered the world of sales and marketing. “I started to realize that there were aspects of leadership that I wasn’t even learning with two faculties.”
He started looking for internships in large companies. A friend, who also studied at Poli and was at P&G, introduced her to the company’s principles, values and culture. It gave a match. The company had arrived in Brazil eight years earlier — today there are 33 years in the country, of its 184 years of history. Juliana Azevedo and P&G grew up together. The portfolio was small. It contrasted with the big dreams of the new collaborator, who put into practice what she had learned with her family. “My parents always encouraged me to be whatever I wanted, as long as I was dedicated.” With this philosophy, he took projects off the paper and faced difficulties. One of them when P&G bought, in 2003, the German Wella, of dyes, shampoos and conditioners. Then a women’s care brand manager in Brazil and Latin America, the executive took over the team in São Paulo with 13 people. The change of culture from a German to an American company and the fact that all employees moved from Rio de Janeiro to the capital of São Paulo resulted in 12 resignations. “It was very impactful. With a lot of dialogue, we reverted. The following months were challenging”, said Juliana.
Ms. CRISIS Another remarkable episode in her trajectory was when she assumed the presidency of P&G in Brazil. He lived in the United States and weeks after arriving here he was faced with the truck drivers’ strike. For ten days in May that year (from 21st to 30th), protesters blocked highways in 17 states to demand a reduction in diesel prices. The distribution of water and food was affected. P&G factories are closed. Juliana sent two reports a day to the American headquarters. He received a call from global CEO David Taylor, concerned about the situation. It was just another one of the Brazilian abnormalities. “I joke that I, my vice presidents and directors can change positions, but [nas reuniões da operação brasileira] there is a chair that will always be there: the one for the lady crisis.”
And since March 2019, with the Covid-19 pandemic, Juliana Azevedo has faced yet another period of turmoil. This time longer and more overwhelming from a sanitary point of view. What has made the executive rescue the teachings of parents and advance in social issues and philanthropy. Among the main actions, transport of oxygen cylinders to Manaus and donation of R$ 60 million in products to affected families. “I had to reinvent myself and make difficult decisions. Looking back, I’m proud of what we’ve done.”
In the field of confronting the economic crisis, Juliana has not lost focus on her main objective since taking over as CEO: to place P&G Brasil among the three main operations of the company in the world. Today it is among the 10 largest, despite the country being the third largest market in its sector. Consumption has helped. According to data from Euromonitor, the sale of hygiene and beauty products grew 4.7% in 2020 and the projection is for an increase of 4.6% for this year, with a turnover of R$ 128 billion. The growth of e-commerce last year was 84.5%. “It doubled the sale of our products through digital channels”, he said. For Tania Zahar Mine, director of Trade Design and professor of postgraduate studies at ESPM and FIA, “people are very careful with personal hygiene, especially hand cleaning and protection against the virus.”
Emergency aid contributed to maintaining, in part, the population’s purchasing power. What did not prevent the company from going through variables, even though it maintained growth. The CEO spoke about the strategy. “Our role was to have a vertical portfolio and guarantee supply, so as not to leave the consumer helpless,” said the executive, who placed on the market different formats of the same product — sizes and prices. A brand toothbrush varies between R$ 5 and R$ 500 (electric).
REVENUE According to data from the Statista consultancy, P&G Brasil had revenues of around R$ 5 billion in 2018, the year in which Juliana Azevedo took charge. Without commenting on local values, the executive says that in these almost four years of work, the company has grown 50% in the country. “We have to grow every quarter. And so it has been.” Globally, the group posted revenue of US$76.1 billion in 2021, the fiscal year ended in June. Unilever, one of its main competitors, had revenues of 50.72 billion euros in 2020, which ended in December.
To overcome the unpredictability caused by the economic situation and political turmoil, P&G Brasil has used strong governance as a recipe. “Brazil has great potential. The challenge for whoever is leading is to realize that potential. It has to transform the Brazil cost into a competitive advantage, as paradoxical as that may seem.”
An important ally in this confrontation is the P&G Innovation Center, inaugurated in 2019, one of the company’s 13 in the world, the only one with the entire product development chain, industrial plant, innovation and distribution center in the same location. This is where new products come from, such as the recently launched Vick Vapospray (continuous jet saline solution), Vick VapoBanho (tablets with relaxing vapors and Vick Vaporub aroma), Secret (deodorant brand exclusively for women) and Always Discreet ( absorbent line for urinary incontinence).
In addition to hygiene and beauty products, P&G Brasil will now move into the medicine area. The company acquired the German Merck consumer area for US$ 3.9 billion. The deal was completed in December 2018 and in 2019 the action plan was being drawn up. But the pandemic made the company hold its shares, which will now be resumed. “We must invest a lot in Brazil. We have a very large sales structure”, said the CEO.
The local operation will also make progress in providing services. The direct delivery of products to consumers’ homes is being tested, which requires more complex logistics, through a partner. Also in an experiment, a partnership signed with the laundry startup Washout connects people who wash clothes with those who need this service through an app. There are discounts on products. A platform for virtual baby showers was also created. This type of initiative generates added value to the brand. “We can be more to the consumer than just a toothpaste, an absorbent, a softener, a deodorant. It is an important product boundary for an experience and a service. We are on this journey”, said Juliana, who during her career at P&G has already lived in Venezuela, Panama and the United States, and returned to live in the neighborhood where she was born, in Jardim Europa, in São Paulo. In the circles the world takes, P&G, which values personal care, has been well taken care of by the intern who became the CEO.
INTERVIEW: “The consumer is more aware, concerned about sustainability”
Who is Juliana?
A Brazilian with great pride, passionate and determined. Very humble, happy, with a wonderful team, with a beautiful project. Mother, married, only child, who had wonderful female references in the family. Engineer and lawyer. Constant student.
What does the pandemic leave to learn for the company and for you?
We left stronger. We are essential goods company. We grew every quarter in Brazil and worldwide. Some of our past strategic choices have proven valuable. Perhaps most importantly, that we wanted to be a force for growth and for good. We already had an ecosystem and culture to act on the pillars of citizenship and when the pandemic comes, it gets stronger. It allowed us to act in a more impactful way, whether within the company, with suppliers, customers and employees. As a leader, two strong feelings: gratitude, as I am very aware of the privileged position that I was able to pass through all this turmoil, and responsibility.
Has this health crisis, in a way, made CEOs more humane?
Yes. Leadership is a more lonely position and we end up finding ourselves as leaders. We are no longer talking about results, innovations, participation in councils. We talked to talk about today’s challenges and to show solidarity. We created a network for exchanging information and searching for solutions. Civil society in Brazil organized itself in an inspiring way in the pandemic, whether to donate – we donate R$ 60 million in products – or to implement programs like Unidos pela Vacina. All of this showed that economics can be more collaborative.
Despite this, was there no lack of leadership in the public sector to guide actions?
We had a great lack of, at the very least, information. We have people present in around 90 municipalities in Brazil. We didn’t have easy access to information about the contamination, ICU occupancy levels in each city. We created our own information access platform. There was no place where this information was available for active management. Companies have become great information centers.
Are we going into a new normal or an old abnormal?
New normal will follow abnormal. At least in Brazil. All countries have their abnormalities. I am a Brazilian in love, but not deceived. The next 18 months will be very challenging. All political and economic volatility creates unpredictability. For us, that’s the hardest word to face. We have to manage efficiently with unknown variables.
Has the consumer changed their behavior?
In our market, the Brazilian consumer has always been very demanding. Cleanliness has always been important. And there is concern that her brand and products go beyond their functional promise. Consumers are more aware, concerned about sustainability, diversity, race and gender issues.
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