Who Was Awarded an OBE — Alessandra Bellini
Alessandra Bellini, the former Group Chief Customer Officer at Tesco, has been appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2025 King’s New Year Honours List for her services to advertising and marketing. (Marketing Week)
Career Overview & Major Achievements
From Advertising Apprentice to Retail Marketing Leader
- Bellini began her career as an advertising apprentice, quickly developing a passion for both strategy and creative disciplines. (Marketing Week)
- She spent over two decades at Unilever (1999–2017), rising to vice‑president of North American food and marketing director in the US division — managing brands, new product development and multichannel marketing strategies. (Marketing Week)
Transformational Role at Tesco
- Bellini joined Tesco in 2017 as Chief Customer Officer, a role combining marketing, customer strategy, brand, loyalty and customer experience. (Gordon Poole Agency)
- She played a central part in using Tesco’s Clubcard data to better understand shoppers and tailor offers and communications — blending data, loyalty and marketing execution. (Gordon Poole Agency)
- Her leadership helped Tesco win external accolades:
- Marketing Week’s Marketer of the Year (2019)
- Tesco won Brand of the Year during her tenure (2020). (Marketing Week)
Strategic Initiatives
Under her leadership at Tesco:
- The Clubcard transformed into a digital engagement platform, growing household penetration and enhancing multichannel loyalty. (Gordon Poole Agency)
- She steered strategic collaborations and campaigns — including partnerships and repositioning to strengthen customer trust and value. (Gordon Poole Agency)
Case Studies: Marketing & Customer Impact
Clubcard Evolution — From Loyalty to Customer Insight Engine
Tesco’s Clubcard became not just a point system, but a customer engagement platform under Bellini’s strategic view, driving personalised offers and deeper insights into purchasing behaviour across millions of households. This data‑driven transformation strengthened Tesco’s competitive position and allowed more effective promotions and merchandising. (Gordon Poole Agency)
Brand Turnaround & Customer Focus
During her tenure, Tesco refocused its customer experience and loyalty strategy — elevating brand value in a competitive retail market by aligning advertising spend with customer data insights to deliver more relevant propositions. (Marketing Week)
Recognition & Awards
Beyond the OBE, her professional impact was recognised earlier with industry awards (e.g., Marketer of the Year), showcasing her thought leadership in marketing and advertising strategy. (Marketing Week)
Personal Reaction & Philosophy
After learning of her honour, Bellini wrote on LinkedIn that she was “so honoured” and credited her colleagues across Unilever, Tesco and beyond. She emphasised her belief that:
“marketing, done well, connects a company vision and goals to its customers and brings the reality of its customers’ lives to its goals and vision.” (Marketing Week)
Her remarks highlight the customer‑centric ethos that underpinned her career and which many marketers cite as key to successful modern brand leadership.
Industry Commentary & Significance
Marketing’s Strategic Role in Retail
Bellini’s OBE reflects a broader recognition of marketing as a core business discipline — one that bridges brand, customer insight, data and customer experience. Retailers increasingly depend on integrated marketing strategies to differentiate in crowded markets.
Marketing & Loyalty Fusion
Her work illustrates how loyalty programmes like Clubcard can shift from transactional promotions to integrated customer experience platforms, enabling richer data, personalised engagements and stronger lifetime value — a trend cited in many modern retail analytics discussions. (Gordon Poole Agency)
Leadership Pathways
Her rise from apprentice to OBE‑awarded senior leader exemplifies how marketers with deep experience in data, consumer strategy and omnichannel engagement are increasingly seen as strategic business leaders, not just campaign managers.
Why This Matters
| Aspect | Importance |
|---|---|
| Award | OBE for services to advertising and marketing — formal national recognition. (Marketing Week) |
| Career Impact | Demonstrates value of marketing leadership in retail transformation. (Marketing Week) |
| Industry Trend | Highlights how customer strategy and data‑driven marketing are core to business success. (Gordon Poole Agency) |
Summary
Alessandra Bellini’s appointment as an OBE in the 2025 New Year Honours recognises a distinguished career in advertising and marketing, with leadership roles spanning Unilever and Tesco. Her data‑led customer strategy, loyalty innovation and brand impact exemplify modern marketing excellence. (Marketing Week)
Here’s a case‑study and commentary‑focused look at the former Tesco customer chief — Alessandra Bellini — being awarded an OBE for services to marketing and advertising, what she did to earn it, real examples of her impact, and industry reactions:
Case Study 1 — Strategic Marketing Leadership at Tesco
Role & Context
Alessandra Bellini was Group Chief Customer Officer at Tesco after joining in 2017, bringing together marketing, advertising, innovation, customer insight and loyalty strategy in one executive role. This gave her a broad remit to shape brand strategy and customer experience for one of the UK’s biggest retailers. (Marketing Week)
Impact & Initiatives
1. Transforming the Tesco Clubcard
- Bellini led the evolution of Tesco’s Clubcard loyalty programme, turning it from a simple points system into a digital engagement platform with personalised experiences and data‑driven value.
- Under her leadership, Tesco deepened customer understanding and engagement, helping lift Clubcard penetration and strengthen customer loyalty as a competitive differentiator. (Marketing Week)
2. Distinctive Tesco Brand Campaigns
- She oversaw high‑visibility marketing efforts, including Food Love Stories and Aldi Price Match propositions, which helped sharpen Tesco’s brand positioning and value narrative.
- These campaigns supported Tesco’s reputation during a period of retail disruption and helped reinforce customer trust and brand differentiation against rivals. (AnnualReports.com)
3. Leadership Through Transition
- Bellini was also involved in major strategic decisions to integrate customer and product functions and ensure a joined‑up approach to customer experience at scale. This included focusing on digitisation and personalisation across Tesco’s retail operations. (Marketing Week)
Recognition While Serving at Tesco
- While at Tesco, she was named Marketing Week’s Marketer of the Year (2019). Tesco itself was also awarded Brand of the Year (2020) in industry rankings, reflecting strong marketing performance under her leadership. (Marketing Week)
Case Study 2 — Industry Leadership Beyond Retail
President of the Advertising Association
- Bellini served as President of the Advertising Association (AA) from 2021 until March 2025, positioning her at the forefront of the UK marketing and advertising industry and influencing strategic priorities across the sector.
- In that role she championed responsible advertising and trust in brand communications — key priorities for industry stakeholders navigating reputation, regulation and ethics. (Marketing Week)
Thought Leadership & Sector Influence
- Through her AA role and public commentary, Bellini emphasised the importance of engaging audiences with genuine and socially relevant messaging — not just product pushes — to build brand trust and relevance.
- Her perspective linked commercial marketing with broader social contribution, especially during times of change or crisis. (creative.salon)
Recognition: OBE for Services to Marketing & Advertising
- In the 2025 King’s New Year Honours List, Bellini was awarded an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her services to advertising and marketing.
- She received the accolade after a distinguished career spanning Unilever, Tesco and industry leadership roles, and reacted on LinkedIn by crediting colleagues across her journey. She emphasised her belief that effective marketing connects company vision to customers and integrates with broader business strategy. (Marketing Week)
Expert & Industry Commentary
Commentators on Career Impact
Industry observers highlight several hallmarks of Bellini’s influence:
- Evolution of loyalty and personalisation: Her work with Tesco’s Clubcard is often cited as a benchmark in using customer data for meaningful engagement, ahead of many competitors.
- Cross‑discipline leadership: Bringing customer insight, creativity, digital, and analytics together under a unified marketing leadership role reflects the modern breadth expected of senior marketers.
- Industry stewardship: Her AA presidency placed her at the centre of national discussions about marketing’s social purpose, trust, and responsible advertising practices. (Marketing Week)
Public & Peer Reactions
Colleagues and sector leaders have generally viewed her OBE as recognition that marketing leadership is strategically integral to business success, not merely a “support function.” The honour underscores how brand, customer experience and societal relevance are increasingly seen as essential to the commercial and cultural value of large organisations.
Lessons & Broader Significance
| Element | Why It Matters |
|---|---|
| Loyalty transformation | Showcases how data and marketing can drive business growth and customer retention. |
| Brand repositioning | Demonstrates marketing’s role in redefining value narratives in competitive markets. |
| Industry leadership | Highlights the importance of shaping sector‑wide practice and trust. |
| OBE recognition | Signals wider appreciation of marketing as central to business and cultural ecosystems. |
Summary
Alessandra Bellini’s OBE for services to marketing and advertising reflects a multi‑decade career marked by:
- Strategic transformation of customer loyalty and engagement at Tesco;
- Leadership in industry governance as Advertising Association president;
- Recognition from peers and professional bodies for elevating marketing as a strategic business discipline rather than a purely promotional one. (Marketing Week)