MICHAEL H COWAN
Strategic Advisor to Consumer Businesses
ABOUT MICHAEL
Global FMCG Experience. Independent Strategic Judgement.
Michael H Cowan is a strategic advisor to consumer-facing businesses, helping CEOs, founders, and leadership teams improve marketing effectiveness, strengthen commercial systems, and deliver profitable growth.
His work is grounded in more than 30 years inside global FMCG and consumer businesses — including Diageo, Procter & Gamble, PepsiCo, Red Bull, McDonald’s, GE, and NielsenIQ — across brand strategy, commercial performance, retail execution, marketing ROI, operating models, and organisational capability & leadership.
Michael’s advisory work began in 2004, supporting PepsiCo through EU accession across Central and Eastern Europe—mitigating pricing and market exposure risks created by single-market integration and delivering over $1M in net annual savings.
Today, he works independently with a small number of consumer-led businesses through strategic advisory, diagnostics, workshops, interim leadership, and proprietary commercial tools.
His focus is simple: clearer strategy, stronger systems, better judgement, and more profitable growth.
Michael H Cowan
Experience and systems knowledge built inside many of the world’s leading consumer businesses:
Cross-Functional Pattern Recognition
CORE STRENGTHS
I’ve worked across consumer, retail, and related sectors—but the value isn’t diverse core domains.
It’s pattern recognition.
The same issues repeat: misaligned teams, overcomplicated strategy, wasted spend, weak execution. I see them early—and focus decisions where they have the greatest commercial impact.
Retail
Digital & AI
Marketing Technology
Private Equity / M&A
“Michael is one of the best operators I’ve worked with. He quickly understands the situation, adapts to the business, and applies decisive commercial judgement with real impact.”
- Senior Executive at Fortune 50 Company
Independent by Nature. Strong Network by Design.
PARTNER NETWORK
When it comes to advisory, most practices overbuild. I don’t.
I work independently, staying close to the client, the brief, and the commercial outcomes that matter. When additional capability is required, I bring in trusted operators and specialist partners with deep, complementary experience.
No consultancy bloat. No unnecessary layers. Just the right capability, applied only where it creates value.
Fully Engaged Beyond the Brief.
ADVISORY IN PRACTICE
My work happens inside real businesses, with leadership teams facing real commercial choices.
Whether advising CEOs, CMOs, or founders, facilitating workshops, or speaking to industry groups, the focus is consistent: clearer strategy, stronger systems, better alignment, and more disciplined execution.
This is applied commercial judgement, not theory — shaped by global FMCG experience and hands-on work across brands, channels, teams, and markets.
No generic keynotes. No recycled frameworks. No consulting theatre. Just commercially grounded thinking that challenges assumptions and improves outcomes.
If you’re looking for commercially grounded strategic advisory built from real operating experience — we should talk.
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