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In the earliest days of Evelyn González’s marketing career, her boss tasked her with a project that seemed impossible. She had to find a buyer for Nestlé’s confectionary business in Central America—the very business for which she then worked.
“I was only twenty years old at that moment, and I was leading a project to sell not just one kilo of biscuits or chocolate, but a business, which is something intangible,” González says. “Basically, I was selling brands, formulas, and machines—as a marketer, no less.”
“I’m passionate about the digital landscape because it can help to accelerate and improve your business with your unique touch.”
Evelyn Gonzalez
González not only rose to the occasion, but also came out the other side with multiple job offers on the table. What’s more, the experience proved to her that she had resilience—a quality that she urges aspiring marketers to cultivate, along with creativity, passion, and curiosity. She also believes that having a clear vision is crucial to achieving career success. For her, that vision has always included working at a dynamic multinational company, like she once did at Nestlé and now has the opportunity to do as vice president of marketing for Latin America at B2B food company Puratos.
González’s journey to her current role began when she was an undergraduate student in her home country of Costa Rica. Even then, she knew that she was meant to pursue marketing.
“I have always really appreciated and enjoyed the aspect of understanding the market and the consumer, finding opportunities, and translating them into realities,” she says. “I also love creating new products and thinking about product development, product positioning, and product packaging. Creating and executing strategies energizes my days.”
González’s passion for her field only grew as she took on progressively more complex roles, first within Nestlé and then with GlaxoSmithKline, which she joined following her sale of the confectionary business at Nestlé. Her curiosity and desire to grow motivated her to continue exploring different industries and even start her own medical marketing agency, before she finally connected with Puratos.
“I saw a huge opportunity to build a marketing area in a company where marketing still consisted of only flyers, banners, and brochures. I knew that I needed to do it––and that I needed to do something really different,” says González about coming on board at her now employer. “The CEO told me, ‘Walk until somebody stops you.’ I’ve never stopped walking, and nobody has stopped me.”
To strengthen the brand’s position in the regional market, González went digital. “I’m passionate about the digital landscape because it can help to accelerate and improve your business with your touch,” she says. “People tend to worry about losing that human touch, but digital marketing actually helps you do better and do more if you know how to customize it and use it as a tool.”
González notes that Puratos was the first company in its industry in Latin America to launch e-commerce, with excellent results. Those results speak to her commitment to the customer experience—and to the deep understanding of both the consumer and the market that underpins her strategic initiatives.
“Strategic thinking is about where you are and where you want to be in the mid- and long-term,” she adds. “I start every day thinking about what I can do better. As part of that strategic mindset, I’m looking at the people on my team and envisioning where they can be two years from now. How can I transform their weaknesses into strengths or reinforce their existing strengths?”
In González’s eyes, building a strong team means building a team with diverse perspectives. She is making strides to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion within Puratos, but her advocacy extends far beyond the company itself.
“I’m a Latina, and I’m a proud Latina,” she says. “As I receive opportunities, I want to give those opportunities to others. I’m trying to push for openness, candid feedback, and diversity of thought in the marketing community of Latin America. I want everyone to be able to talk and share their opinion, and I want everyone to be able to grow and shine.”
González plans to keep growing her own career moving forward, without sacrificing the moments that she carves out each day for herself and for her loved ones. Whether the future sees her prioritizing sustainability to meet Puratos’ organizational goals or shifting her gaze to markets outside Latin America, she remains as eager as ever to let her passion and her curiosity guide her.
“If you’re working in marketing for multinational companies, you will fail a lot of times—a lot of times—but you need to keep going and be persistent,” says González. “Curiosity will take you to another level. Marketing for me is about doing more of what I love . . . every day I learn something, and I am able to connect with many cultures and people who enrich my life.”
