Geoff Wills
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Plus Level Candidate |
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Tell us about yourself I am from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada – a surprisingly vital hub in the omega-3 space – where I spent 12 years leading the marketing team for Nature’s Way Canada. I oversaw the top premium omega-3 brand in Canada, innovating on flavor and formula, including achieving leading share positions in liquids and plant-based omega-3 where we were first to market. I’ve personally worked on over 50 unique omega-3 SKU launches, across 7 different brands, launched in 4 different countries. In my career in the natural health space, I have enjoyed building brands of quality and with purpose, benefiting people and the planet alike. In January of last year, my wife Jackie and I relocated to Minneapolis, MN where I lead brand marketing teams for Nature’s Way USA. Being brand new to the Mid-West, we have been enjoying eating and bicycling our way around the Twin Cities. Next up: ice fishing! Why are you running for the Board of Directors? For starters, I love the omega-3 category and have been preaching the omega gospel for over 13 years! As a Board Member, I will continue to promote and grow our category. Specifically, I believe it’s vital to have representation from consumer brands on the Board to complement the expertise we have at the supplier level. I will provide context from the perspective of brand marketers, retailers, and the consumer, not only about omega-3s, but from the context of other growing categories, ingredients, forms and innovations. From ideation to R&D, from regulatory to branding, from production to distribution to promotion, I’ve developed a deep knowledge of the category that can benefit the Board. For example, I bring perspective honed by travel across North America delivering category education sessions directly to retailers. Through this experience, I came to appreciate how much ongoing education remains required for our category to achieve broad breakthrough alongside even more established categories. My experience with GOED includes being an active member, recent participation on the Bylaws Committee, and extensive work on the Communications Committee, where I also served as Chair for three years. In that role, I remember giving an update on GOED’s communications strategy at the Exchange in 2020, just weeks prior to the pandemic, thinking how proud I was of this industry and the role we play in health and wellness. The importance of that role has only become more obvious since then. As a Board member, I will continue to advocate for omega-3s and the benefits they provide to everyone and do so enthusiastically on behalf of all members. |
Senior Director of Brand Strategy