BUCKiT® #30-Kevin Roberts: Radical Optimist, Inspirational Business Leader and Creator of Lovemarks – Named One of the Top 10 Ideas of the Decade by Ad Age
It’s 1989 and the CEO of Pepsi Canada is on stage with the Canadian Prime Minister. It’s a full house, the police are on high alert and cameras are everywhere to record the highly anticipated presentation. Suddenly the lights go out and a lit up ‘Coca-Cola’ vending machine is rolled out onto center stage. The keynote speaker picks up a machine gun and literally blows the competition to pieces. Kevin Roberts is known worldwide as the former CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi. One of the world’s leading creative organizations, handling more than fifty of the most valuable global brands internationally, with a team of more than seven thousand people in eighty-two countries. Roberts began his career in the late 1960’s with iconic London fashion house Mary Quant. Later he became a senior marketing executive for Gillette and Procter & Gamble. At the age of 32, he became CEO of Pepsi-Cola - Middle East and later Pepsi’s CEO in Canada, over-taking Coke in the hard fought ‘Cola Wars.’ Kevin developed a highly successful and groundbreaking approach to marketing and advertising called Lovemarks, which was named one of the top 10 Ideas of the Decade by Advertising Age in 2009. Recognized for his positive and inspirational leadership style, Kevin has an extraordinary ability to generate ideas and emotional connections, making him one of the most well respected business leaders in the world.