At Beyond Brochure, we believe the best leadership stories aren’t about perfect résumés or flashy titles – they’re about people navigating real challenges and growth. Recently, we spoke with Marko, who became CEO of a large FMCG group in 2021 after more than a decade inside the company. His journey offers a different perspective on what it means to step into leadership.
A Path Built from Within
Marko didn’t arrive in the CEO seat overnight. He had already spent ten years inside the company, moving through roles that stretched both his skills and his outlook.
He began in a functional role, focusing on operations, before being appointed Country Manager in Romania. Later, he was promoted to Regional Director of Europe, where the scope of leadership widened dramatically.
“Each step taught me something different,” Marko reflected. “Managing a single country gave me focus and accountability. Leading a region showed me scale and complexity. Both experiences prepared me for the CEO role – though nothing truly prepares you until you sit in the chair.”
By the time he became CEO in late 2021, Marko wasn’t a newcomer with bold promises and dramatic changes. He was someone who knew the company from the inside out, and that familiarity became one of his greatest strengths.
Growing into Leadership, Step by Step
Marko’s story highlights something many leaders forget: leadership is often layered, not leapt into.
- In Romania, he learned the importance of local context — every decision had a direct impact on teams he knew personally.
- In the regional role, he began balancing different markets, cultures, and priorities, understanding that what works in one country may fail in another.
- As CEO, he faced a new challenge: seeing the whole without losing sight of the parts.
“The CEO role doesn’t erase what came before. It builds on it. You carry those lessons with you – about people, about culture, about execution. Without that foundation, strategy becomes abstract.”
Beyond the “Hero CEO”
So much of leadership storytelling focuses on the “hero CEO” – the outsider who swoops in with bold moves and reinvents a company overnight. Marko’s path was different. His leadership wasn’t about saving an organization, but about growing with it, step by step, and earning trust over time.
What This Means for Aspiring Leaders
Marko’s journey isn’t a story of sudden breakthrough. It’s a story of staying, of growing deeper where he was planted, and of letting each role prepare him for the next.
For anyone thinking about their own path, here are three takeaways worth noting:
- Climb doesn’t always mean change. Sometimes the best leadership opportunities come not from moving companies but from committing to one place long enough to grow with it.
- Experience compounds. Leading a country, then a region, then an organization may seem like separate roles, but each one builds a different muscle you’ll need later.
- Trust comes from time. When Marko became CEO, he wasn’t a stranger to the people or the culture. That trust gave him credibility that no title alone could provide.
The Bigger Picture
Marko’s story reminds us that leadership is rarely glamorous up close. It’s not about skipping steps or chasing recognition. It’s not about being the “hero CEO.” It’s about patience, preparation, and perspective.
At Beyond Brochure, we want to surface stories like this because they push back against the myth that leadership is about speed or spectacle. As Marko’s journey shows, sometimes the most powerful move is simply to grow steadily into the seat – carrying every lesson with you along the way.
Disclaimer: To protect anonymity, some contributors’ names may be changed, but the stories and lessons are always real.
