Maria von Scheel-Plessen

Meet Maria: a Digital Enthusiast, Women’s Advocate, and Passionate Speaker.
 
Maria has a deep passion for digitization across industries, from start-ups to luxury houses and corporate organizations across different industries. She has a unique growth mindset and is a serial board member.
 
Areas of Expertise

• Digital and offline marketing

• Digital transformation

• Business-to-Business (B2B) and Business-to-Consumer (B2C) marketing and management

• ⁠Brand and Client Engagement

• Strategic market initiatives

• Technical expertise from omnichannel set-up to attribution modeling

 
Maria's education at the London School of Economics has given her a strong foundation in economic principles and strategic thinking, which she brings to her various roles and areas of expertise.
 
Experience Includes
Director for Europe, Middle East, and Africa at Gucci
Maria currently oversees media, advertising, and performance e-commerce for Gucci across 37 markets. Her role includes setting the strategic framework and direction for the region.
 
Global Head of Media & Advertising at Montblanc
Maria was Global Head of Media & Advertising at Montblanc for four years. She managed the global media and advertising strategy across 22 markets in this role. She was dedicated to the digital transformation of the luxury house, enabling a seamless user journey and establishing omnichannel frameworks. Her achievements include implementing attribution modeling to track offline purchases in relation to marketing investments, bringing transparency to the entire marketing funnel.
 
Marketing and Communications at Amazon
At Amazon, Maria was responsible for the marketing and communications strategy for premium brands in Germany, Italy, and Spain. She led strategic market initiatives and global promotions such as Cyber Week and Prime Day to drive business performance. She also managed relationships with external partners, the Amazon Media Group, and internal stakeholders.
 
Head of Communications for Southeast Asia at Zalora (Rocket Internet)
As Head of Communications for Southeast Asia at Zalora, Maria drove business growth and managed brand relationships across seven markets. Her role involved developing and implementing communications strategies to support Zalora's regional expansion and brand awareness.
 
Board Mandates
In addition to her full-time role, Maria holds various board mandates to pursue her passion as an entrepreneur. These include the following mandates:
 

• Advisory Board Member at Programmatic Pioneers Summit

• Advisory Board Member at eTail

• Advisory Board Member at Pure App

 
Speaking Engagements
One of Maria's great passions as a speaker is sharing her experiences and learning from others through constant dialogue. She is a frequent speaker to share her expertise. These include keynotes at RetailNXT, Women at Amazon, Web Summit Lisboa, OMR, and many more, which can be found under the 'Speaking Engagements' tab. As well as keynoting on the biggest stages in Europe, Maria is also a regular guest speaker at universities, sharing her knowledge with students. Recent engagements include the University of St. Gallen (HSG), Frankfurt School Of Finance, AMD and Fresenius.
 
Further Initiatives
Maria believes that young women need female role models to believe in themselves and strive for a successful career. Therefore, it is very important for Maria to take initiatives promoting women's visibility in business. This includes the following initiatives:
 

• Ambassador at Initiative Chef:innensachen by McKinsey

• Grand Jury Member at The Gerity Awards

• Jury Member for “Female Leader category” at Miss Germany 

• Jury Member for “Under 35 Rising Star category” at VideoWeek