Hugo Santos

About Hugo Santos

Strategic and results-driven executive with nearly 25 years of leadership in the food and beverage industry across General Management, Commercial Development, and Operations. I’ve led transformative growth initiatives at global powerhouses like Nestlé, Danone, and Ocean Spray, overseeing multi-billion dollar portfolios and building high-performance teams across Sales, Commercial Development, Category Management & Strategy, Shopper Marketing, Shopper Experience and e-Commerce.Currently serving as Vice President of Commercial Development at Nestlé USA’s Coffee & Beverage Division, I lead a team of 100+ across $5.6B in revenue and a brand portfolio that includes five globally recognized billion-dollar brands. My experience spans market share acceleration, P&L optimization, commercial strategy, and scaling innovation pipelines. Recognized for executive-level agility, I’ve led functions through significant business inflection points—integrating teams, building incubator ventures, and turning around underperforming units. I\'m passionate about culture, strategy, and unlocking growth by aligning commercial levers with operational execution.

Experience

1. Vice President Commercial Development, Coffee and Beverage Division

   Nestlé

   Mar 2025 — Present · Seattle, WA, US

   5.6B portfolio. Commercial Development, ecommerce, Category Strategy/Management, Shopper Marketing, Industry Affairs.

Education

• University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business

  Artificial Intelligence: Business Strategies and Applications

• Cornell University

  eCornell Certificate, Servant Leadership

  2020 — 2020

• Shmuel Ashkenazi

  Executive Coaching

• The Wharton School

  Finance and Accounting for the Non-Financial Manager

  2021

• ISCTE Business School

  Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A.)

  1997 — 2002

Skills

• Competitive Analysis
• Cross-Functional Team Leadership
• Strategy
• Customer Insight
• Management
• Consumer Products
• Fmcg