ForourIssueof “The Most Influential Business Leader to Watch in 2024,” NicholeDaher, wepresent FounderandCEOofSOSFranchising,leadingher waytorevolutionizeAutismTreatmentforgood.
Marlboro: From ‘Mild as May’ to the Iconic ‘The Marlboro Man’
42 Interactive Learning: Enhancing Math Education 20
Top 10 Richest Women in the World in 2024
Cover Story
PUJA BHOLA RIOS
Retail Media SAAS Leadership President Chief Operating Ofcer
According to a report by S&P Global, analysis of more than 1,100 companies shows that women hold about one-quarter (25.1%) of senior management or leadership roles.
Even though we see a vast number of women stepping into executive leadership roles today, the path to signicant success remains full of challenges. Yet, despite this landscape, Puja Bhola Rios stands out as a beacon of inspiration, defying the odds and making her mark in a highly competitive industry. As the President and Chief Operating Ofcer of Kevel, Puja has not only ascended to the pinnacle of her profession, she is also leading the charge in revolutionizing retail media technology.
Under her and CEO James Avery’s visionary leadership, Kevel is transforming the digital advertising space for retailers, offering a powerful platform that allows a retailer to harness its own advertising networks. This innovation is not only reshaping how retailers engage with consumers, but is also setting new benchmarks in the industry. Puja’s journey and her contributions to Kevel’s success are a testament to her exceptional leadership and commitment to breaking barriers in the corporate world.
Puja approaches work-life balance not as a xed state but as a journey of managing highs and lows. During pivotal times like the exit at Frame.io, she devoted months to intense work, often with long days stretching over the past six months. She credits her 21-year marriage to an exceptional husband for their daily communication, which helps them plan for and handle upcoming demands effectively. They adjust their focus between work and family needs, ensuring they meet the most pressing requirements at any given time.
Maintaining this equilibrium is crucial to Puja. It’s about recognizing the immediate priorities, whether it’s advancing professionally or nurturing personal relationships. By understanding and managing these uctuations, she ensures both aspects of her life thrive. This approach not only supports her career but also underscores the importance of family and personal well-being in achieving long-term success.
Clarity and Determination: Advice for Emerging Entrepreneurs
Starting out, many budding entrepreneurs and leaders often feel overwhelmed and uncertain, wondering how to navigate the complex world of business. Yet, it is their determination and willingness to learn that propels them forward. Puja, with her wealth of experience, highlights the crucial importance of mastering prot and loss (P&L) dynamics as a foundation for leadership success. Understanding how nancials work, from prot margins to budget impacts, is not just a skill but a necessity. Puja advises that integrating a solid grasp of P&L with a clear leadership vision can transform initial uncertainty into condent decision-making and sustained growth. For those aiming for executive positions, this knowledge equips them to lead effectively and drive their organizations toward success.
Puja’s Leadership Journey
Puja Bhola Rios stands alongside founder & CEO Avery at the helm of Kevel as its President and Chief Operating Ofcer, steering the company through the competitive currents of retail media technology. Her journey is marked by a series of transformative leadership roles and signicant accomplishments. Before joining Kevel, Puja served as the Chief Revenue Ofcer at Frame.io, where she orchestrated an impressive leap to over $100 million in annual recurring revenue, culminating in a monumental acquisition by Adobe. This remarkable achievement was built on a solid foundation laid during her earlier career.
At the age of 19, her career narrative began with a foundational seven years at Xerox, where she honed her strategic acumen, followed by a prolic 13-year stint at CareerBuilder. There, she not only excelled as the Senior Vice President of Enterprise Sales and Customer Success but also championed gender diversity by founding CareerBuildHER, an empowering women’s alliance. Known for her dynamic leadership and compelling presence as a speaker, Puja is a fervent advocate for empowerment and growth, a passion she encapsulated in her best-selling book, “Get It Together.” Her story is one of vision, resilience, and a relentless drive to inspire and lead.
During the 1960s, scientists came up with research that stated “Cigarettes cause cancer and are bad for health.” This put $8 billion industry and 7,50,000 occupations at stake. Many business's sales dropped, except for one that went from having a 1% market share at the time to becoming the 4th largest tobacco company within less than a year - Marlboro.
Marlboro not only managed to sail through the cigarette ads ban in the 1970s but also became worldwide popular. Today, it is one of the most popular US cigarette brands. Through this article, we will learn how it became a known brand and its marketing strategies and adaptations to stay relevant in the 21st century.
From Marlborough Street to a Global Brand
Marlboro is a brand that has become synonymous with rugged masculinity and freedom. It is an American brand of cigarettes owned and manufactured by Philip Morris USA. Philip Morris started a shop in London where he sold tobacco and rolled cigarettes in 1846. When he passed away from lung cancer in 1873, his brother Leopold and his widow Margaret kept the business going. They even opened a factory on Great Marlborough Street, London, which inspired the name of the brand. In 1902, a branch was opened in New York to sell many types of cigarettes. The name "Marlboro" was ofcially registered in the US in 1908, but the cigarettes didn't hit the market under this name until 1923. When they were launched in 1924, they were promoted as "America's luxury cigarette" and were mostly sold in fancy hotels and resorts.
Marlboro started as a brand that promoted cigarettes for women. They were milder and had a lter to be different from the stronger unltered cigarettes that men usually smoked. The lter had a red band to hide lipstick marks, and the tagline was ‘Mild as May’. But that changed in the 1960s when the era saw a major change in the tobacco industry when scientists published a study that cited the destructive nature of it on people's health.
Marlboro has diversied its product offerings in response to changing consumer preferences and regulatory pressures. The brand has introduced variations such as Marlboro Lights, Marlboro Menthol, and Marlboro Ultra Lights to cater to smokers seeking different experiences. With the growing demand for alternatives to traditional cigarettes, it has also released smokeless tobacco products and ecigarettes.
By introducing Marlboro HeatSticks, a heated tobacco product, the brand made its rst move into the emerging market of reduced-risk products. The brand offers different types of cigarettes to meet diverse consumer preferences and market segments.
From full-avored options to menthol varieties, it has various options available through its extensive product lineup.
In 2008, Philip Morris International made big changes to its brand worldwide. They created a new way to organize the different kinds of Marlboro cigarettes into three groups: Flavour, Gold, and Fresh. This new system was meant to meet the different tastes of adult customers. All three groups still had the same brand style and feeling of condence.
Challenges Faced by MARLBORO
One of the most pressing challenges for the brand has been the global decline in smoking rates. In the United States, the percentage of adults who smoke has decreased from 20.9% in 2005 to 11.5% in 2021.
The rise of alternative nicotine products, such as e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches, has intensied competition in the nicotine market. Marlboro has faced signicant challenges from new entrants offering these products. The market for reduced-risk products (RRPs) is highly fragmented, with many brands experiencing double-digit growth in recent years.
Consumer preferences have shifted towards reduced-risk products due to growing health concerns about traditional smoking. This shift has prompted Marlboro to introduce low-risk and health-conscious alternatives to stay in the market.
MARKET SHARE in Recent Years
Marlboro has historically held a dominant position in the cigarette market, with a signicant market share in the U.S. and a strong global brand value. Marlboro's global brand value was reported to be over 36 billion U.S. dollars as of 2022, making it the most valuable cigarette brand worldwide. However, its share value keeps uctuating and has seen a decline in recent years. Yet, it is still one of the popular brands in the tobacco industry despite the challenges and controversies.
Enhancing Math Education Interactive Learning:
Mathematics is often seen as daunting for non-math majors. Traditional teaching methods—paper textbooks, static exercises, and monotonous lectures—fail to align with today’s diverse student needs.
Interactive math education, however, can transform students from passive listeners to active participants in their education. In this blog post, we’ll explore how interactive math education can make a difference.
Online interactive math learning can transform education by making math more accessible, engaging, and fun for students. What started with textbooks in classrooms has now evolved into dynamic online platforms. While there are challenges, integrating AI presents promising opportunities for the future of math education.
