Mondelez Global Ecommerce Director, Colleen Basaydin: “Raise Your Hand and Take Risks” - Episode 311

In this episode of The Ecommerce Braintrust, Kiri Masters talks with Colleen Basaydin, Global eCommerce Director at Mondelez, about the challenges and strategies in the digital commerce space. They discuss the importance of being where the customer is, adapting to changing trends, and the value of marketplaces like Amazon.

With over 20 years of expertise in Sales, Customer Marketing, and Digital Commerce, Colleen has worked with a diverse range of retail customers and brands. She transitioned into the digital commerce space over a decade ago, starting with the baby gear industry and supporting companies like Newell Brands during their digital transformation. She now plays a pivotal role at Mondelēz, guiding their approach to digital commerce and educating the company on best practices, particularly in their relationship with marketplace giant, Amazon. 

In today’s episode, Kiri and Colleen discuss:

• Colleen emphasizes the need to be where customers are and adapt to their changing shopping behaviors.

• They highlight the blurring lines between shopping channels and the importance of providing solutions that meet customer needs.

• Colleen discusses consumer sentiment and trends to inform strategy, particularly in the marketplace space.

• The challenges in the industry include the rapid pace of change, profitability concerns, and finding the right partners and capabilities for product development.

• It is important to have a diverse team with unique skill sets and backgrounds to drive positive change.

• Colleen shares her own career journey and the transformation of Mondelez's digital commerce team.

• They also discuss the complexity of selling food products online, the importance of assortment planning, and the future growth of marketplaces.

• Colleen's work with Amazon has led to significant growth and transformation for the company.

• They highlight the importance of testing and innovation, particularly in markets like China.

• The early days of selling on Amazon were described as the "Wild, Wild West" for big brands.