Global Head of Ketel One

Job Description :

Now Hiring: Global Head of Ketel One Vodka Lead one of the world's most iconic vodka brands into its next era of growth.

Location: Amsterdam

Ketel One Vodka is not just a spirit; it's a symbol of craftsmanship, heritage, and modern cocktail culture. Created in the 1980s by Carolus Nolet with the vision to elevate cocktails, Ketel One has become a global favorite, revered by the world's best bartenders and celebrated in the most elevated cocktail experiences. Today, it stands as our super-premium vodka offering, proudly MADE TO COCKTAIL.

This is an outstanding opportunity to lead a highly strategic joint venture at Diageo. It is a long-term partnership with the Nolet family, who have been distilling in Schiedam, Holland since 1691 across 11 generations. As Global Head of Ketel One, you will be at the helm of this partnership, managing the Joint Venture P&L, shaping brand strategy, and administering a trusted, high-value relationship with the Nolet family.

Ketel One is a truly global brand, sold in 50+ markets and delivering approximately $400M NSV annually, with around 3M EUs sold. The U.S. remains our powerhouse market, contributing 90% of global volume, but exciting growth opportunities are emerging across Europe, particularly in Eastern and Southern Europe, Ireland, and MENA.

Our portfolio includes Ketel One Vodka, Citroen and Oranje flavor variants, innovative Ready-to-Serve formats, and the U.S.-exclusive Ketel One Botanical range — each crafted to meet evolving consumer tastes while staying true to our heritage.

The brand is in strong momentum. The vodka category is premiumizing, cocktail culture is thriving globally, and Ketel One continues to outperform with over 110 consecutive weeks of share growth in the U.S.

This role is for a bold, strategic, and collaborative leader ready to drive global performance, forge deep partnerships, and shape the future of a truly iconic brand.

Purpose of the Role

This is more than a brand role - it's a true mini-GM opportunity at the helm of one of Diageo's most prestigious global brands.

As Global Head of Ketel One, you will co-lead our collaborative partnership with the Nolet family, acting as a business owner with responsibility for the global P&L. Working in close partnership with the CEO of Ketel One World Wide and Diageo leadership, you'll shape the long-term vision of the brand, drive strategic growth, and deliver exceptional performance across all markets.

Critically, you will be the brand's most senior commercial advocate within Diageo's market network — engaging directly with Country General Managers across multiple markets to build conviction, secure investment, and ensure Ketel One is a genuine priority on their commercial agenda. This requires not only strategic clarity but the credibility, gravitas, and organisational savvy to influence at the most senior levels of a large, complex global organisation.

You'll be the global custodian of the Made to Cocktail platform — leading its evolution and rollout to ignite consumer passion, bartender advocacy, and market momentum.

Leadership Expectations

As the global head of brand, your impact will be both strategic and cultural:

• Set the strategic direction and inspire a global team behind a bold growth ambition, with a focus on creativity, premiumization, and executional brilliance.

• Be a connector — across markets, agencies, and the Nolet family — ensuring strong alignment, high performance, and a shared sense of ownership.

• Lead by influence and integrity — chairing the global Ketel One Executive Committee, leading Board prep, and building strong relationships with supply, finance, legal, and commercial partners.

• Command the room at senior levels of the organisation. You will regularly engage with Country General Managers and market leadership teams, and must have the gravitas and commercial authority to influence their investment decisions and strategic priorities in favour of Ketel One — without direct line authority.

• Foster a high-performance culture across a diverse and cross-functional team, rooted in collaboration, shared purpose, and exceptional delivery.

• Champion the brand's legacy while driving innovation and relevance in a resurgent, premiumizing vodka category.

Key Accountabilities

• Lead and evolve the Made to Cocktail communication platform globally, turning brand love into brand growth.

• Partner closely with the U.S. market (our volume powerhouse) to drive growth, expand innovation, and optimise performance.

• Build and scale Ketel One's presence in high-potential regions including Eastern and Southern Europe, Ireland, France, and MENA.

• Shape extraordinary brand storytelling and experiences across all touchpoints, from on-trade to culture-led activations.

• Direct and manage senior stakeholders, including the Senior Brand Manager and a broader cross-functional JV team.

• Drive operational excellence in the Joint Venture — ensuring commercial performance, agile decision-making, and deep collaboration with the Nolet partners.

The Ideal Candidate

You are an exceptional leader who combines the instincts of a brand builder with the rigour of a business owner. You are equally at home shaping creative strategy and interrogating a P&L — and you know how to move large, complex organisations through influence, not authority. You bring:

• 12+ years of brand or commercial leadership experience, ideally in global or multi-market roles

• A genuine end-to-end business management mindset — you understand how brand strategy translates into market investment, distribution, revenue, and profit, and you hold yourself accountable for the full picture

• A strong commercial foundation: you are fluent in P&L management, investment trade-offs, NSV dynamics, and the commercial levers that drive sustainable brand growth

• A consistent record of developing and delivering breakthrough brand strategies

• Demonstrable gravitas and organisational awareness — you have successfully influenced very senior stakeholders (General Manager level and above) in large, matrixed organisations, earning trust and shifting priorities without direct authority

• Experience operating in complex, high-stakes environments: joint ventures, founder-led businesses, or matrixed global organisations

• A creative mindset and instinctive feel for what makes a brand distinctive and loved

• Outstanding communication and stakeholder management skills, from boardrooms to bar rooms

• Resilience, adaptability, and an aim to lead through ambiguity with pace and confidence

• A collaborative leadership style, focused on inclusion, impact, and empowering

Flexible Working Statement-

Flexibility is key to our success. Talk to us about what flexibility means to you so that you’re supported to handle your wellbeing and balance your priorities from day one.

Diversity statement-

Our purpose is to celebrate life, every day, everywhere. And creating an inclusive culture, where everyone feels valued and that they can belong, is a crucial part of this. We embrace diversity in the broadest possible sense. This means that you’ll be welcomed and celebrated for who you are just by being you. You’ll be part of and help build and champion an inclusive culture that celebrates people of different gender, ethnicity, ability, age, sexual orientation, social class, educational backgrounds, experiences, mindsets, and more.

Our ambition is to create the best performing, most trusted and respected consumer products companies in the world. Join us and help transform our business as we take our brands to the next level and build new ones as part of shaping the next generation of celebrations for consumers around the world.

Feel inspired? Then this may be the opportunity for you.

If you require a reasonable adjustment, please ensure that you capture this information when you submit your application.

Worker Type :

Regular

Primary Location:

Amsterdam

Additional Locations :

Job Posting Start Date :

2025-09-29