I believe in multidisciplinarity

NOur brands, such as Persil or Schwarzkopf, have a long history behind them, which we greatly respect. However, their position was never solely due to age or the strength of tradition. It was built primarily on innovations and the ability to accurately respond to the real needs of consumers – in different times and in different social contexts. It was this willingness to change that was their greatest strength. Today we do exactly the same, but in a different reality, digital, faster and setting the bar higher than ever before. Today we do exactly the same in a world that is moving faster and more and more digital. Yes, a long history gives us credibility, but it does not exempt us from the obligation to constantly update our reach channels, product offer and communication language.

A good example is Persil, which, in addition to technological effectiveness, increasingly emphasizes equality in the division of household duties in communication. This is a natural evolution of a brand present in millions of homes: we respond to social changes and show a modern family model in which responsibility is shared, not assigned to one person. Our ambition is for subsequent generations of consumers to perceive our brands as as current and necessary as their predecessors – regardless of how much the world around them changes.

In marketing, it is clearly visible that “following the trend” activities lose credibility very quickly. Consumers immediately sense if something is not authentic. For me, the true effectiveness of socially engaged marketing lies in building lasting relationships based on trust and real value. Therefore, it is worth engaging only in projects that are consistent with the DNA of our brands and the values ​​that we have been communicating for years. In the case of our women’s brands, such as Gliss, we have long been talking about the power of women and their self-confidence. But we asked ourselves: what is the foundation of this strength?

Simple: health. Without it, it is difficult to talk about agency, development or fulfillment. That’s why we focused on breast cancer prevention, because it is still one of the biggest health challenges for women in Poland. I believe that a woman best understands another woman – her fears, needs, doubts. And research confirms it. That’s why the Pink Patrol operates locally and is based on direct relationships. For three years, in cooperation with the OnkoCafe – Razem Better foundation, we have been training ambassadors in small communities and giving them specific tools: phantoms for learning self-examination, educational materials, access to the foundation and its experts. This is not a one-off campaign in October – it is an educational program that lasts all year long.

They are best seen in small towns and specific stories. In 2025 alone, over 50 new clubs were established and during this time we trained 150 ambassadors. Behind these numbers there are real women who volunteered for tests sooner and convinced their loved ones to do so. And this is the true measure of success – when our actions actually change lives.

In the mentoring programs I participate in, I tell young women to consciously plan their careers. It is important that when entering a company or starting their own business, they consider where they would like to go, treating it as a journey and an opportunity to gather various types of experiences. My own path – from sales, through e-commerce, to marketing management, including work in Henkel’s foreign branches – showed me that the best decisions are made when you understand the business in its entirety, not just a part of it. That’s why I believe in multidisciplinarity.

More than just a skill set. It gives you agency, and agency builds self-confidence, which is necessary in the highest positions. At this stage, it is no longer about being the best specialist in one area. It’s about being able to listen, connect the dots and inspire others to work together. And this is what all the earlier stages of my journey taught me.

In my experience, well-being and performance are not mutually exclusive – on the contrary, they are mutually reinforcing. A team that feels safe and trusts the leader has the courage to propose new solutions and take responsibility for decisions. I do not believe in one “female leadership style”, although it is a fact that women perform statistically better in empathy tests. Empathy helps you build an environment where you can make mistakes, ask difficult questions, and talk openly about challenges. At Henkel, we operate on the basis of Lencioni’s trust model – and the so-called We have developed the golden rules of communication and meetings in the Henkel Consumer Brands department together with our teams. Because a strategy without an appropriate organizational culture simply does not work. Well-being for me is also a sense of meaning. That’s why MIT’s volunteer program, Make an Impact on Tomorrow, is so important.

Employees can implement their own social projects with the company’s support, even using paid working time. In 2025, we allocated over PLN 527,000 for MIT activities. PLN, and in the years 2019–2025, 1,583 initiatives were implemented with a total value of over PLN 21 million. This not only builds commitment, but also gives a sense of agency and community. A happy team does not mean a less demanding one. It means a creative, responsible and motivated team – and stress, as we know, is never a good long-term fuel for innovation.

I am very glad that the Polish Organization of Advertisers was established at all – it is proof of the maturity of our market. The organization has been operating since 2023, and Henkel was one of its co-founders. Today it brings together over 50 companies and represents Poland in the structures of the World Federation of Advertisers. This is important because for the first time as an industry we are speaking with one voice – not only about growth, but also about responsibility.

The biggest one is the pace of change. Legal regulations will always be one step behind reality, which is why our task as an environment is to develop standards earlier – before a crisis occurs. From the vice president’s perspective, I believe that ethics in advertising is no longer a soft image topic. Today it is a hard element of business strategy. Once a brand loses trust, it takes years to regain it. Therefore, responsibility is not limited to compliance with the law – it is about consciously building standards that protect consumers, creators and the brands themselves.

When conducting classes in the workshop model at postgraduate studies, I deal with people from all age groups. And very often I leave these classes with the feeling that I have learned a lot myself. I believe that the best way to learn marketing is not just by listening, but also by taking matters into your own hands. My students have to create concepts for new products and then defend them. I notice in my students, but also in my work with my team, that the strength of young people is a critical look at traditional models, the question “why?”, the search for meaning, the courage to question old dependencies. For me, this is a source of great optimism: the future of marketing is in the hands of people who combine critical thinking with responsibility, social sensitivity and digital proficiency.

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