About
Tiffany Wilburn
Fractional Chief Growth, Marketing & Operations Officer for food and beverage brands
I've spent 25 years on both sides of the buying desk, building brands and deciding which ones earn the shelf. Now I help growth-stage brands keep the place they fought to win.
Take the free Growth AssessmentAt a glance
Who you'd be working with
Tiffany Wilburn is a Dallas-based fractional Chief Growth, Marketing & Operations Officer and the founder of Clever Disruption, LLC, a WBENC-certified consultancy. She helps growth-stage food, beverage, and CPG brands, distilleries, restaurant groups, and retailers build the brand, product, and retail strategy to keep growing.
- Experience
- 25+ years in food, beverage, and CPG, including Interim CMO, SVP Marketing, and VP Marketing roles
- Brand side
- Nestlé brand strategy, communications, and innovation, including global headquarters in Vevey, Switzerland; Sazerac; TGI Fridays
- Retailer side
- Private brand development at Daymon Worldwide for FreshDirect and Lowes Foods
- Expertise
- Brand strategy, product innovation, retail merchandising, and portfolio management
- Education
- M.S., Applied Sociology & Marketing Research; B.A., Mass Communications; Harvard Business School Online, Disruptive Strategy and Organizational Leadership
- Certification
- Clever Disruption is a WBENC-certified Women's Business Enterprise, based in Dallas, Texas
My story
Both sides of the buying desk
At Nestlé, I led brand strategy, communications strategy, and innovation. In my role with global headquarters in Vevey, Switzerland, I consulted with Nestlé Waters and Purina on commercializing innovation. I went on to rejuvenate Sazerac's largest global brand and to serve as interim CMO at TGI Fridays, building brand equity strategy for an icon.
On the retailer side, I built private brands at Daymon Worldwide on behalf of two very different grocers. For FreshDirect, a premium grocer serving discerning New York City shoppers, I created a private brand from scratch. For Lowes Foods, a family-owned regional grocer, I led a renovation of its brand, products, and merchandising. Both taught me exactly how buyers decide what stays in the set and what gets cut.
My graduate training is in applied sociology, so I start every engagement with people: why shoppers choose, why buyers commit, and why teams stall. The strategy follows from there.
I founded Clever Disruption because I kept watching good brands win the line review and lose the shelf. Growth-stage brands rarely have senior commercial leadership in house at the moment they need it most. I bring that leadership to them, for as long as they need it.
How I work
Getting on shelf is the easy part
Winning a placement takes a strong pitch and good timing. Staying there takes everything else: pricing that holds after the promotion ends, margins that can fund the next reset, supply that keeps pace with a hit, and demand that pulls product through without you pushing it.
That second part is where most brands quietly lose ground, and it's the part founders usually face alone. It's also why I exist. Growth that lasts needs a partner who knows what the buyer is measuring after the PO is placed.
I think like a category manager.
I pressure-test pricing, margins, assortment, and supply the way a buyer would, before your brand ever reaches the buyer's desk.
I'm measured on commercial results.
My work is judged by turns, reorders, and retained distribution, not by how much marketing activity it generates.
I lead with people, then plans.
A strategy only works if the team behind it can carry it, so I build the clarity and rhythm your people need to execute.
Proof
What happens when I'm involved
+33%
household penetration for Southern Comfort , Sazerac's largest global brand, which I repositioned to deliver its first global growth since 2017 .
“Tiffany is a stunningly rare breed: traditional brand marketer meets creative-inspired strategist. I've consistently found myself relishing in the depth and breadth of her background, learning intensely from Tiffany's extraordinary experience in CPG marketing.”
A. Parker
President, Cognac Division, Uncle Nearest, Inc.
“I worked with Tiffany on several positioning projects, as well as a big marketing capability project. I found her to be a very strong marketer with a clear strategic compass, decisive and action-oriented leadership style, and a genuine concern for the development of her team. Great things happen when Tiffany is involved.”
Peter Carter
Retired Group Vice President, Procter & Gamble; Founder, Creative Haystack, LLC
“Tiffany is a highly experienced, incredibly smart, intensely collaborative and sensationally high-performing leader who knows how to build brands and develop teams. Her ability to quickly immerse herself into brands, drive growth and innovation while strengthening brand strategy is extraordinary.”
K. Richards
Founder, NOLA Coffee Festival
“Tiffany brings great energy to every project we collaborate on with a keen sense of creativity, leadership, clarity, and organization. As a team member, team leader, creative thinker and brand transformer, Tiffany earns my highest recommendation.”
R. Sawyer
President, CMA Design
Beyond the work
What keeps me steady
I'm a mother and a yoga instructor. I've taught and practiced around the world, including in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand, and as a certified Warriors at Ease instructor I lead trauma-informed yoga for active-duty military, veterans, and first responders.
That work shapes how I lead. When a brand is under pressure, I stay calm, stay clear, and keep the team focused on the decisions that matter.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
What does a fractional CMO do for a food and beverage brand?
A fractional CMO provides senior marketing and commercial leadership on a part-time basis. For a growth-stage food or beverage brand, that means owning brand strategy, innovation, retail merchandising, and portfolio decisions without the cost and risk of a full-time executive hire.
Who does Tiffany Wilburn work with?
Tiffany works with growth-stage CPG brands, distilleries, restaurant and hospitality groups, and retailers. Most clients already have commercial traction and need senior leadership to turn it into growth that lasts.
How does an engagement with Clever Disruption start?
Most clients start with the free Growth Assessment, a five-question diagnostic that takes about two minutes. From there, engagements include a Scale Readiness Diagnostic that typically takes two weeks, monthly fractional leadership with no long-term commitment, or custom project work.
Where is Clever Disruption based?
Clever Disruption, LLC is based in Dallas, Texas, and works with brands nationally. It is a WBENC-certified Women's Business Enterprise.
See where your brand stands
Five questions, about two minutes, and an honest read on what's holding your growth back.
Take the free Growth AssessmentWant the full career history? Connect with me on LinkedIn