Catriona Cunningham

Commercially driven marketing professional with over five years' experience delivering customer-focused initiatives, cross-functional projects and commercial growth across international consumer brands. Experienced in translating consumer insights into strategic recommendations, prioritising initiatives, managing stakeholders and using data to inform decision-making. Passionate about building products and experiences that solve real customer problems.

Assistant Brand Manager at Heineken UK - Beyond Beer Team (2024-10 – Present)

• Own marketing initiatives across the Beyond Beer portfolio, collaborating with commercial, sales, creative and agency partners to deliver projects aligned with strategic business priorities.
• Translate consumer insight, commercial objectives and market trends into marketing initiatives that improve customer engagement and support brand growth.
• Led delivery of a national product launch with Tesco, coordinating cross-functional stakeholders to successfully execute an integrated customer campaign.
• Managed a UK-wide customer acquisition campaign reaching over 300,000 consumers, driving product awareness, trial and engagement.
• Managed a multi-million-pound marketing budget, prioritising investment where the brand would see the most returns.
• Developed campaign briefs, defined project objectives and coordinated delivery across multiple teams to ensure projects were delivered on time and within budget.
• Monitored campaign performance and used customer feedback and commercial data to identify opportunities for optimisation.
• Worked closely with agencies and internal stakeholders to deliver consistent customer experiences across physical and digital touchpoints.
• Supported innovation projects throughout the product development process, contributing customer insight and leading stage-gate reviews.

Brand Manager at Outcast Brands (2023-03 – 2024-08)

• Developed UK growth strategies for premium spirits brands by combining market research, customer insight and commercial analysis.
• Increased UK sales by 95% while doubling brand visibility through integrated marketing and customer engagement initiatives.
• Identified new market opportunities using competitor analysis, customer feedback and sales performance data.
• Built long-term partnerships with hospitality businesses by understanding customer needs and delivering mutually beneficial commercial solutions.
• Designed and delivered customer engagement initiatives that increased brand awareness, product trial and advocacy.
• Led cross-functional projects involving commercial, creative and agency partners, ensuring alignment across objectives, timelines and deliverables.
• Represented brands at industry events, generating over 200 qualified commercial leads and increasing social engagement by 20%.

UK Market Advisor/ Bord Bia Fellowship at Bord Bia (The Irish Food Board) (2023-03 – 2024-08)

• Conducted qualitative and quantitative market research to identify opportunities for Irish food and drink companies entering the UK market.
• Analysed customer behaviour, competitor activity and market trends to produce strategic recommendations supporting commercial decision-making.
• Worked with cross-functional stakeholders to develop market entry strategies covering customer segments, distribution, pricing and competitive positioning.
• Presented recommendations to senior business leaders and retail buyers, contributing to more than £1 million in new retail listings.
• Identified new commercial opportunities that contributed to approximately 10% business growth.

Masters in International Marketing Msc. – UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School (2023 – 2024)

Bachelor of Commerce International with French in B.Comm. – University College Dublin (2016 – 2020)

Academic Exchange – ESSEC Business School (2018 – 2019)