Brand Director, BuzzBallz

Brand Director, Buzz Ballz

The Brand Director, Buzz Ballz is the senior brand leader and thought partner to the President of Buzz Ballz, responsible for the brand's global identity, creative direction, and innovation architecture — from the U.S. and Americas core through all 50 global expansion markets. This role will own brand strategy end-to-end, and partner with the President to define expansion, route-to-market, and strategic partnerships.

This is a builder's role. This role leads the US/Global Brand organization and is charged with extending Buzz Ballz brand equity, creative standards, and category-creation playbooks into new international markets — setting the global innovation framework, The role carries shared accountability for brand-driven revenue and margin performance alongside the President and is intended as a proving ground for future general management responsibility.

Location:

Louisville, KY or Dallas, TX preferred - other remote locations considered within Sazerac's approved hire locations.

What You'll Do:

• Lead the global Buzz Ballz brand strategy and creative vision, owning brand identity, storytelling, packaging, and creative standards across all markets while driving culturally relevant, social-first demand generation and ensuring consistent global execution with flexibility for local market needs.
• Lead brand strategy and integrated marketing across the U.S. and core international markets, driving campaigns, shopper activation, localized execution, and commercial growth through close partnership with Sales to increase brand velocity, distribution, and retail impact.
• Lead global brand expansion strategy across new markets, developing scalable market-entry playbooks, category creation strategies, and localized brand plans while partnering cross-functionally to drive successful launches and continuously refine global best practices.
• Lead the global innovation strategy and portfolio architecture, defining the innovation framework, flavor and format roadmap, and portfolio priorities while driving end-to-end innovation in the Americas and guiding market-specific decisions to accelerate growth and strengthen brand equity.
• Lead and develop a high-performing global brand team, coaching talent, fostering collaboration, and building organizational capability to deliver bold, commercially impactful marketing as the business expands.
• Partner cross-functionally to drive commercial success, collaborating with executive leadership, Sales, Finance, and Operations to translate brand strategy into measurable revenue growth, market execution, and business results.

Required:

• Bachelors degree
• 10+ years in brand, marketing, or creative leadership at a brand known for disruptive, culturally fluent marketing.
• Proven ability to build cultural momentum for a brand and convert it into a new go-to-market model — not just execute within an existing one. Track record of driving trial and demand through social-first, community-led, or drop-based strategies before or alongside traditional retail/distribution.
• Bold, original creative instincts; a demonstrated point of view on what makes a brand culturally relevant, evidenced by work the candidate can point to as genuinely their own.
• Strong commercial acumen and a demonstrated ability to partner effectively with Sales, without needing to own the RTM/distributor relationship directly.
• Proven people leader with experience managing a multi-function brand team and developing talent.
• Highly creative with excellent strategic, analytical, and communication skills; comfortable operating in ambiguity.
• Executive presence and judgment consistent with being a senior leader and who can eventually step into broader general management scope.

Preferred:

• MBA
• RTD, beverage alcohol, or traditional FMCG experience is a plus but explicitly not required — strong candidates may come from beauty, fast fashion, DTC, or creator-economy brands.
• Experience building brand strategy in new or underdeveloped markets a strong plus — comfort creating a category, not just competing in one.

Culture and Benefits:

Sazerac offers a comprehensive compensation and benefits package that…