Hobart, who has a degree in history, has been at Asahi since 2020, joining as marketing director for EMEA & Americas, and moving to his current role in April 2024.
Previously, the marketing director held various roles at Diageo, working with the company’s Guinness and Bailey’s brands in Africa and South America for more than 10 years.
During his career, Hobart says he has been “lucky” to combine some of his personal passions with the brands he has represented as well as live and work abroad.
“A big highlight has been living and working overseas, especially in Latin America, immersing in travel and other cultures.
“I’ve also been involved with brilliant sports partnerships at different times, including cricket, rugby, football and F1, especially during my time at Asahi UK through brands such as Peroni Nastro Azzurro and Asahi Super Dry, which has been a lot of fun”, he tells The Morning Advertiser (The MA).
However, Hobart credits much of his career success and flexibility to family support: “I have been very fortunate to work with companies that value positive balance and have had clear space for both my family and career.
“Much of it was possible as my wife took a break from her career while we lived overseas when our children were young. This gave them a fantastic international outlook and is a great example of work helping to enrich our family life, which I am very appreciative of.”
Different challenges
Outside of the boardroom, Hobart brings the same sense of purpose to his community, having volunteered as a governor at his local secondary school for a number of years.
He continues: “Sitting in a totally different environment, with different challenges, has been a really interesting leadership experience. Honestly, being a parent to teenagers and young adults is also a different test of leadership that can teach you a lot!”
The marketing director also finds inspiration in the world of sport: “I enjoy reading biographies and autobiographies of sporting leaders – I love finding the parallels.”
Reflecting on his career, he says one his proudest moments came quite early on, when working for what was United Biscuits, now Pladis, on a rebrand of Jaffa Cakes, something he describes as “really disruptive” and “well ahead of its time”.
Though nothing outshines consistently building strong and connected teams of all sizes across different parts of the world and different cultures, he adds.
Of course, not every campaign goes to plan, and Hobart is candid about a key early-career misstep: “My biggest personal low point was the first set of TV ads I was responsible for.
“It is a long story but in short, I was too junior to have the confidence to call out when I thought the casting and direction was not right for the brand, and we ended up having to ditch three executions and start again! An expensive lesson.”
Even so, Hobart doesn’t dwell on regrets. “They’re wasted energy,” he says. Instead, he uses setbacks as a springboard for better decisions and bolder risks.
“For me, excellent leadership means ambition and clear direction. A person who’s transparent, willing to show vulnerability, empowers others and earns their trust. Someone people are willing to go into battle with—and for.
Risk for reward
“But [my advice to people starting their career] would be to take more risk and try different things – be that with the brand you’re representing, or with your career. Breadth of career at a younger age can really help accelerate experience, so I would have encouraged my younger self to try more cross functional moves.
“And as for brands, in almost all cases they are more robust than people think and mistakes usually are lost and forgotten, so with the right level of thinking be willing to risk for reward.”
Keeping things in perspective is also important for the marketing whizz, especially when dealing with ongoing economic pressures within the sector.
He continues: “There’s pressure with every job, and when you’re in a leadership role especially you also have a real sense of responsibility to others’ lives and their wellbeing.
“Ultimately though I have the perspective that the pressures I may feel at times is really incomparable to that of frontline workers such as doctors, police, and teachers, for example.”
Looking ahead, Hobart says the team at Asahi will continue to remain optimistic and keep delivering value in the face of a challenging environment: “The extra costs that have come through to the hospitality industry in recent years have been a big burden, but there are clear and emerging areas of growth. The sector is very resilient.
“I’m really optimistic in the longer term. The beer and pub sector remains central to our culture and consumers are continuing to look for richer experiences.
“While drinking habits are evolving, especially with the rise of greater moderation from all generations, this gives fantastic opportunities for brands and outlets to find new ways of engaging and adding value to consumers.”
