Through the Red Door with Nicola Wells – an Elizabeth Arden column

After going to a Catholic primary school, I went to the local grammar school – Banbridge Academy – instead of a Catholic grammar school in another town. While it was supposed to be a mixed school, fewer than 10% of the students were Catholic and I was one of only two in my class. The bullying we experienced was merciless in the first few years, many of the bullies were egged on by sectarian parents deeply suspicious of Catholics. As these kids matured, they formed their own opinions and bonds were formed that survive to this day. My closest friends are from my school days.

These early experiences had a profound effect on me in terms of developing resilience, seeking compromise and resolution, learning empathy and tolerance versus confrontation and conflict. As an underdog myself it seems I have always championed the underdog in life, from sport to career.

I relish a challenge and the more impossible the ambition or objective the more motivated I am. Many of my career roles have seen me working for the number two brand in the market, such as Pepsi. When you are a challenger there is everything to gain.

As a teenager who was your role model and why?

As a teenager we don’t think anyone knows better than us and our friends, do we? I was surrounded by strong women, both within my family but also friends and neighbours who held their own families together. They supported each other through grief, violence, loss and financial hardship and always seemed to smile and find time for a laugh. So, a role model? That would be the power and endurance of female friendships.

What prompted a gap year after finishing A levels? And why did you choose to spend the time in the USA?

I turned 18 during my A levels, young for my year, and I wasn’t ready to study. So, I reapplied for Languages for Business and had an unconditional offer for the following year. I decided to travel to the USA – doesn’t every Irish person? I worked for six months to fund my trip, which started in New York and then I travelled cross country following Route 66 to the west coast. It was great preparation for leaving home to go ‘across the water’ between Northern Ireland and England to college.

Tell us a little about your studies at Oxford Brookes University and what doors that opened.

I studied French, Spanish and global business, specialising in marketing in the final year. It was a four-year course, with two work placements in France, so I had an opportunity to live abroad and get valuable work experience, which was a huge advantage when I graduated. I lived in Grenoble on both occasions and got to experience both summer and ski season in the Alps.

Oxford was a fantastic place to study and live. It is small enough not to get lost in and beautiful all year round. I have been back many times since. My husband Tony and I met there. He proposed in Oxford on my 30th birthday and we went back again for our tenth wedding anniversary staying in the old jail, which seemed quite appropriate.

My first job was with Mars on their graduate scheme, where everyone starts in field sales. I was still living in Oxford and got a message to say my car was being delivered on Sunday and my territory was the east coast of Scotland. I had three days in a hotel in Edinburgh to find myself somewhere to live and be ready to start the following week. Having not driven since I left home, that was quite an initiation to motorways with a fax map – no sat nav in those days.

It was certainly a baptism of fire, designed to test your mettle: long days and tough customers. I was in the foodservice division, trying to convince cash-strapped chefs in workplace and hospital catering to buy Uncle Ben’s rice versus own label, and that jars of ready-made curry sauces were better than their own recipes. Challenging.

The training and discipline were excellent. Phrases like ‘failing to plan is planning to fail’ are still quick to mind, as is the KLARDOC approach to overcoming customer objections: Keep calm, listen, acknowledge, define, overturn and close.

And then on to Britvic and senior brand manager for Pepsi. When did you realise you had a talent for brand development and innovation?

I moved to Britvic in 1998 into a senior account management role and then into trade marketing in head office. A role came up in the Pepsi brand marketing team, a sidestep but necessary I believe to get a fully rounded commercial experience. I remained in Britvic for eight happy years and progressed to Group Brand Manager for the Robinsons portfolio.It was during my time in brand marketing that I discovered my passion for consumer-led thinking and the power of data and insights to create winning strategies.

Finlay, my first child, was born when I was at Britvic. I felt homesick and the nearly four-hour daily commute was not family friendly. Of course, this was in the days before flexible or homeworking was an option.

During that time, I went on a course called ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People’. Some describe it as life changing, as it makes you re-evaluate not just your professional life but your goals for all aspects of your life. One piece of advice that stuck with me was ‘if you want something, tell everyone what it is you want’. I wanted to go back to Ireland and so I told everyone. I quickly assumed a new role as Head of Marketing for PepsiCo Ireland Food and Beverages (Snacks and Tropicana).

So, we packed up and moved to Ireland in 2007 and bought a house by the beach, which was always a dream. I was just ten minutes from work and 40 from my family. I was part of the senior management team with direct exposure to the commercial side of the business and people management. It was invaluable. While Walkers is a leader in the UK market it wasn’t in Ireland, where there is a strong local brand. My challenge to get to #1 was achieved within 18 months.

I had my second child, Isla, in 2009. Soon after I returned from maternity leave, a decision to relocate the PepsiCo office – which would have meant long commuting hours again – prompted my decision to take redundancy. It was a brave and right decision for me and for my family. Very quickly I was contacted by a former colleague about a maternity leave contract with DAA. I remember saying “I’m not here for a long time or a good time”. I started with a two-man team and developing that into 20+. I stayed nine years.

You were the first female executive team member for a global travel retailer with operations in 12 countries and turnover in excess of €1 billion. How did that feel?

It was an amazing day when I got called; totally unexpected. As well as validation of the work I had done in developing a consumer and insight-led culture and strategy, by creating a role on the executive team the company was demonstrating its belief in the importance of the consumer and a commitment to being consumer centric.

You left ARI in December 2018 and set up your own agency, U.S.P Consulting (Unlocking Strategic Potential). What prompted that move into self-employment?

My role and time at ARI was extremely rewarding with exciting times working on winning bids like Auckland and Abu Dhabi, leading strategy development, and bringing the first end-to-end travel retail ecommerce site to market. However, there was a lot of travel and the work/life balance I had moved to Ireland for was gone.

The crunch point came when my son started secondary school and was really struggling. He was diagnosed with ADHD and needed more dedicated support than I could give and continue in the ARI role. So, it was with a heavy heart I resigned in 2018 yet knowing that it was the right decision.

Like every challenge, I threw myself into educating myself to be able to advocate for my son in school and ensure he had the right support to enable him to access the same opportunities as neurotypical students. I’m sure I was a big pain in the neck in the beginning, but they got used to me and in fact use some of the techniques and templates I developed with other students. The issue is that teachers receive next to no training on neurodiversity conditions such as ADHD, autism and Aspergers.

One of my biggest achievements was to see Finlay pass A level equivalent and start studying Law and History at Dublin City University earlier this year. An extremely emotional and proud day for us all, and there was a certain pleasure in proving those who had written him off in first year wrong.

Since starting U.S.P Consulting I have been blessed with great clients and variety of work. That’s included redeveloping the commercial strategy for Dublin Airport and working with Gerry Murray and Sarah Branquinho at the Duty Free World Council on content development and the delivery of Travel Retail Academy and CPD accredited Certificate in Travel Retail and Duty Free. I’ve been involved in delivering training in critical thinking and strategic planning as a consultant and trained practitioner for SCQuARE International and worked on other projects for DAA.

Project work suited me as my daughter was also diagnosed with ADHD and dyscalculia, a difficulty in understanding numbers, and needs support too. It’s much easier though second time round, a lot of battles have already been won.

Does this ever feel overwhelming?

As parents we are programmed to want the best for our children and never want them to struggle or suffer a disadvantage, be that from something like ADHD or, when I was growing up, their religion. So yes, there are bad and sad days, which all parents have.

However, I am a problem solver, and a coping strategy is to dive in, gather information, make a plan and execute it.

And U.S.P. Consulting project work led you to Nestlé International Travel Retail (NITR)?

I knew of Stewart Dryburgh from our Britvic days, and we met again when I was at ARI and we were the customer. We next connected on an online seminar in 2020 and we started talking. That discussion sparked a three-year relationship working on commercial and marketing strategy, leveraging the time that COVID gave us to step back and look at what else we could do to drive industry recovery and future category growth.

That resulted in the development of NITR’s ambition to make food the #1 most purchased category in travel retail and the introduction of the VERSE (Value, Engagement, Regeneration, Sense of Place and Execution) growth model, which we launched in 2021.

I was appointed NITR Head of Category Development in March last year.

I am driven by challenge and championing causes and this role is very much up my street. I work closely with the marketing and commercial teams so have the best of both worlds in terms of brand and customer facing. Where I am most motivated is finding new growth opportunities for food in new categories and regions and in working with our customers on finding new ways to drive the category.

The recent launch of Food Reimagined at The Trinity Forum is an example of one of these initiatives I have championed to drive a reappraisal of food by retailers. Championing the underdog as usual.

What do you consider your most positive, and negative, traits, and what roles have they played in your career?

I’m a perfectionist, tenacious and stubborn. I love a challenge, love those underdogs. I like to think that people can engage with me. I think I have a good sense of humour and the ability to laugh at myself. I always throw myself into roles and projects 110% at least, which is a positive. I have also learned to know when to step back and move on if something is not working.

Determination and tenacity are positive, but the trick is to know when you have hit the wall and need to move on. In saying that I am incredibly stubborn and that is very much a Celtic and especially a Northern Ireland trait; but it was an essential skill growing up.

One of my favourite phrases is ‘if you were right, I would agree with you’. It takes the other person some time to catch on, by which stage I have usually moved on.

I have a tendency to overthink things and catastrophise but, having learnt the importance of planning from my Mars days, I am a list and calendar person. This helps the juggling and the stress.

I am not known for my spontaneity though. I do find that a walk on the beach with the dog and listening to a good audio book is pretty much the cure all.

So, what does a self-proclaimed perfectionist do to relax/wind down?

Even though I do it mostly professionally, I enjoy writing almost as much as I enjoy reading. I’ve even threatened to write an Adventures in Travel Retail, with no anonymity guaranteed.

My reading habits? I probably read at least one book a week. I have a room with – on a recent count by my children – 106 books I’ve bought and haven’t managed to read: yet. If we are out shopping, I am literally banned from entering a bookshop. I read a wide variety of genres but do love murder stories and think I could probably get away with it now, such is my expert knowledge.

That said, I recently bought a record player so I believe my reading habit could quickly turn into a vinyl habit. I’m reliving my youth as a Goth/Indie fan in the ’80s, which my kids are not happy about. Though my daughter does now love The Smiths, so we are making progress. Cinema is another big love; my kids and I are horror film fans.

I live by the sea and do swim; I even invested in all the necessary gear for swimming off the Irish coast. However, considering the weather here and the fact that I may not be cut out for that, I think I will stick to daily walks along with beach with our Labradoodle Bailie. She’s the dog I vowed never to have because I said I wouldn’t have time to look after her. The kids said they would… and who looks after her? Me, of course.

We are all adrenaline junkies. We have been to Florida three times and recently went to Barcelona and even missed some more cultural pursuits to go to [theme park] PortAventura. The higher, faster, and scarier the ride the better, and that extends to watersports, which we all love equally. ✈