Marketing Director
E-commerce, Tech, Retail, Web3, Education, Well-being, Creative industries
Marketing leader and business strategist with 15 years of experience building brands, marketing functions and growth systems across technology, education, retail, wellbeing and the creative industries.
I combine commercial rigour, creative direction and operational discipline to turn strategy into measurable growth. My background includes leading in-house teams, co-founding a retail business and advising 20+ founders and leadership teams internationally.
Experience
Founder & Marketing Strategist
BIRCH
Dec 2024 – Present | Remote, International
Independent strategy practice advising 20+ founders and leadership teams across the CIS, Europe, MENA, the US and Asia, working in education, health and wellbeing, e-commerce, consumer businesses and the creative industries. Clients engage me at moments of launch, market entry, repositioning or business model change.
- Turned broad growth ambitions into clear commercial strategies by aligning positioning, proposition and unit economics
- Built executable go-to-market strategies and marketing operating models, defining channel priorities, budgets, roles and success metrics
- Strengthened funding readiness by translating business strategy, market opportunity and traction into credible investor narratives and materials
Marketing Director
A&K American Educational Consulting
Jan 2022 – Dec 2024 | Remote, Georgia
Took over marketing weeks after February 2022, serving a Russian-speaking audience whose paid channels were closing one by one. Rebuilt acquisition around what could not be switched off: original characters, serialised storytelling and a native funnel that earned attention rather than buying it.
- Grew organic traffic 35% YoY while the paid channel mix collapsed
- 180% ROI on marketing spend, full payback plus 80%, on a $120K annual budget
- Restructured the entire product line and launched 6 new products
- Built full-funnel analytics and automated the sales funnels: reporting time down 60%, manual work down 40%, lead response 35% faster
- Ran the full marketing mix in-house: SEO and organic, paid media, influencer and affiliate partnerships, CRM and email, events
- Led 5 teams (content, performance, social, analytics and MarTech), lifting campaign output 50%; live founder events sold out within a week
**Marketing Director
Pavlovo** school
Sep 2018 – Jan 2022 | Moscow, Russia
Ran brand, admissions, internal media and community for a school competing on meaning rather than price. Raised money from outside the marketing budget to rebuild the campus's shared spaces, and built the reputation that carried the school into the Forbes Education ranking.
- Named the best private school in the Moscow region and listed in the Forbes Education ranking
- Tripled brand awareness and grew admissions 23% annually on a rebuilt brand strategy
- Managed a ₽4M annual budget and raised additional external investment to rebuild the school's shared spaces, not simply redecorate them
- Built an in-house creative studio spanning 8 functions, cutting agency spend 60%
- Founded and ran the largest school-initiated pedagogical festival in Russia
- Owned all internal media, including the campus screen network, and the communications and packaging for every school event
- Launched a community development programme: +35% family engagement and satisfaction
- Co-led the HR and employer brand work that let the school attract and keep stronger teachers
**Managing Partner
Odyssey**
May 2016 – Jun 2018 | Moscow, Russia
Built the concept, the brand and the business, and grew it on partner-funded marketing and community programming.
- Reached break-even in under 9 months with no dedicated marketing budget
- Secured partnerships with Leica, Fujifilm, Sony, Broncolor and BMW, who funded 20+ co-branded events
- Hired and led a 7-person launch team across sales, brand and customer experience
- Launched a photo studio and print bureau contributing 20% of first-year revenue
- Lifted repeat purchase rate 30% through community-led loyalty programming
**Marketing Director
Leica Camera**
Feb 2014 – May 2016 | Moscow, Russia
Inherited the 2014 currency crisis and a media budget cut to zero. Restructured the marketing team into an in-house creative studio and financed every brand activity through partners.
- Grew sales 20% during the 2014 economic crisis on zero media budget
- Opened 2 flagship stores and launched e-commerce, reaching 18% of total sales
- Turned Leica Academy into a recurring revenue stream: 400+ enrolled, +16% brand engagement
- Ran partner-funded campaigns with Magnum Photos, BMW and Jaguar, generating 200K earned impressions
**Marketing Director
Eurodom**
Oct 2012 – Jan 2014 | Moscow, Russia
Built and ran the full marketing function with no allocated budget, financing campaigns through supplier brand co-op funding.
- Launched e-commerce to 22% of total revenue within 12 months
- Grew offline sales 18% YoY through a revised brand strategy and expanded media mix
- Created the marketing department from the ground up, cutting agency reliance 70%
- Developed the brand book and store design guidelines used across 12 retail locations
**Marketing Manager
Leica Camera**
Introduced the first consistent brand and communication framework across all market channels
- Delivered 28 events and exhibitions, driving 25% YoY growth in footfall
- Founded Leica Academy with a two-week public launch at Garage Museum featuring 7 Magnum photographers, drawing 5,000+ participants
- Launched the first corporate blog, social presence, CRM and email programme (+21% retention) and built the ambassador strategy that doubled engagement
Contact
(+995) 599 56 50 35
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/katiaberezkina/
https://birch.marketing
Location
Tbilisi, Georgia
Languages
• Russian - Native
• English - C1
Education
Bachelor of Civil law, IP, 2010. HSE University.
New Media Art, 2012. Rodchenko Art School.
Foundation Art and Design, 2016. British Higher School of Art and Design.
Courses
AI for Marketers
2025. HubSpot academy
Brand strategy, 2023. Eyes platform.
End-to-end analytics, 2022. Netology.
Brand Management, 2021.
Skillbox.
Skills
- Marketing Strategy
- Brand Development
- Brand Positioning
- Creative Direction
- Business Strategy
- Go-to-Market Strategy
- Product Marketing
- Product Launch
- Market Entry and Localisation
- Market Research
- Team Leadership
- Cross-functional Leadership
- Stakeholder Management
- Agency Management
- Budget and P&L Management
- Unit Economics
- Employer Branding
- Change Management
- Demand Generation
- Growth Marketing
- Customer Acquisition
- Performance Marketing
- Paid Media
- SEO and Organic Growth
- Content Strategy
- Social Media Marketing
- Influencer Marketing
- Affiliate and Partnership Marketing
- Email Marketing