Roberto Manzano has built his career in the areas of marketing and trade marketing, not only for manufacturers, but also retailers. This has allowed him to acquire a complete understanding of the strategic and the operational aspects of marketing.

His professional career started at Johnson & Johnson where he held the position of Marketing Manager. Later on, he worked as Marketing & Trade Marketing Director for Ralston Energy Systems in Spain and Portugal. As a member of the International Marketing Directors Committee, he participated in the Energizer Battery launch for Europe. Energizer is the brand leader in the portable energy market.

As Marketing and Purchasing Director at Leroy Merlin, he participated in the expansion and diversification of this Category Killer - the undisputed leader within the Spanish Do It Yourself market. A highlight during this period was the brand repositioning and evolution of Leroy Merlin´s store concept, the redefinition of the communications strategy and evolution of the global assortment to customers.

“The opportunity to work for a retailing company has a special value from the marketing perspective, because you can be in contact at the same time with diverse markets, diverse problems, diverse buying processes and varying customer behavior. It has the value of having continuous and direct access to the place where the commercial and marketing activities happen: the point of sales. Moreover, it allows managers to have consistent and direct access to the final customer”.


Academic background:

• Master in Business Administration MBA, Instituto de Empresa Business School – 1986.
• Bachelor of Economics and Business Sciences, Universidad Complutense. Madrid
• Diploma in Laws, UNED.
• Currently working on his Doctoral thesis at the ‘Markets Commercialization and Research Department’ at the Universidad Complutense, on topics such as large scale specialized distribution and brand image.

Corporate Experience:

• “Marketingthinking” Consulting. Founder and partner.
• Associate Professor. Instituto de Empresa Business School. Marketing Department (2005 …)
• Marketing and Purchasing Director. Leroy Merlin Spain (1997 – 2005).
• Marketing and Trade Marketing Director. Ralston Energy Systems Spain and Portugal (1993 – 1997).
• Marketing Manager. Johnson & Johnson Spain. (1987 – 1993).


Research Areas:
Retail Marketing
Trade Marketing
Shopping Marketing
Brand image
Promotional activity

Other information of interest
• E-mail: rma@profesor.ie.edu