Michelle Nielsen

About

Michelle Nielsen is a senior brand strategist and executive marketing leader with more than 20 years of experience helping brands navigate change, find new relevance, and unlock opportunities for growth. Working across B2B and consumer industries, she specializes in brand transformation, positioning, consumer insights, and integrated marketing, bringing clarity and creative thinking to businesses at critical inflection points. At the heart of Michelle's approach is a belief that the strongest brands are built on a deep understanding of people. She leads consumer research, competitive analysis, and strategic discovery to uncover what motivates audiences, challenge assumptions, and identify opportunities for differentiation. She translates those insights into compelling brand narratives, distinctive positioning, and big ideas that connect with consumers and move businesses forward. Michelle is equally comfortable shaping the strategy and rolling up her sleeves to bring it to life. She develops integrated campaigns and brand experiences at every scale, from everyday social content and digital marketing to websites, national advertising, experiential activations, and Times Square billboards. A natural storyteller and collaborative creative partner, she works alongside internal teams and agencies to turn strategic thinking into work that resonates. As a fractional or interim marketing executive, Michelle embeds within organizations to provide senior-level leadership during periods of growth, transition, and transformation. She aligns teams around a shared vision, develops actionable marketing plans, builds and manages agency partnerships, and connects brand strategy to commercial priorities. Her hands-on approach ensures that strategic recommendations translate into meaningful execution. Her experience spans global brands including Johnson & Johnson, Band-Aid, Johnson's Baby, Martha Stewart, Macy's, The Rockettes, Columbia Sportswear, and Colombian Coffee, as well as emerging and established businesses across consumer health, food and beverage, technology, manufacturing, and professional services. Recent engagements include repositioning Cooper Sharp Cheese for national growth, unifying WMT Digital's acquired businesses under one brand, and developing national consumer campaigns for pH-D Feminine Health. Throughout her career, Michelle has worked at the intersection of business strategy, consumer behavior, and creativity. Whether revitalizing a heritage brand, building a new positioning platform, leading a marketing organization, or developing a breakthrough campaign, she brings curiosity, strategic rigor, and a willingness to get into the details to make great ideas happen.