Layal Baaklini

Layal Baaklini is a creative and curious marketer and a growth strategist with more than eighteen years of experience in communication, marketing, and incubator programmes.

She is currently working with Bacardi Limited, the world's largest privately-held spirits company, as Managing Director for Disruptive Innovation globally. Layal is driven by her purpose to instil creative confidence, to achieve the extraordinary. She infuses creativity by distilling data and transforming it into actionable insights leading to potential value creation. In her marketing tenure, she led Bacardi and Martini in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, driving double-digit sustainable and profitable growth while enhancing brand love.

Layal has launched Bacardi's first-ever incubator programme globally, Next Gen Idea Lab, unleashing a transformative innovation culture for the organisation that has led to two product launches while leveraging Design Thinking and Sprint methodology.

In her current role, Layal is responsible to deliver adjacent growth to Bacardi by seeding new businesses and building entrepreneurial capability under Bacardi Greenhouse. Layal is driven to empower individuals to own their full potential and is passionate about the intersection between business, entrepreneurship and social responsibility.

She is a life learner and graduated from Harvard Business School Leadership program, completed Ideo Foundation on Design thinking and designing for change. She also has an MBA from Saint Joseph University Lebanon.