Sourcing a Marketing Director to lead Birchbox’s UK expansion

We partnered with beauty and grooming subscription service, Birchbox, to appoint a Marketing Director as the business accelerated its growth in the UK market.

Having previously supported the brand with a number of marketing appointments, the business engaged our executive search practice to identify a senior marketing leader capable of scaling the brand, strengthening customer acquisition, and driving long-term growth in a rapidly expanding direct-to-consumer market.

Sourcing a Marketing Director to lead Birchbox’s UK expansion

About Birchbox

Founded in 2010, Birchbox is a pioneering subscription commerce business that transformed the way consumers discover beauty and grooming products. Combining curated monthly subscription boxes with a content-led customer experience and an integrated ecommerce platform, Birchbox quickly established itself as one of the most recognised brands in the global D2C beauty sector.

As the company expanded internationally from its US headquarters, the UK became a key strategic growth market.

Challenge: Appointing a Marketing Director to drive growth across multiple channels

Birchbox required a Marketing Director who could lead the next phase of its UK expansion while supporting broader international ambitions.

The role demanded a leader capable of:

  • Driving customer acquisition and retention across a subscription-based business model
  • Scaling brand awareness within a highly competitive beauty market
  • Overseeing both ecommerce performance and broader marketing strategy
  • Balancing long-term brand building with immediate commercial outcomes

Given the breadth of the remit, the business needed a marketing leader with experience spanning both digital-first growth businesses and larger-scale consumer brands.

Solution: A targeted executive search across consumer and subscription businesses

We worked closely with Birchbox's UK CEO to define the ideal candidate profile and identify the capabilities required for the next stage of growth.

Our search focused on senior marketing leaders from:

  • High-growth subscription and membership businesses
  • Digital-first consumer brands
  • Ecommerce-led organisations
  • Established consumer companies with broad marketing leadership experience

Through extensive market mapping and targeted engagement, we developed a highly selective shortlist of candidates with proven experience in scaling consumer businesses and leading multi-channel marketing functions.

Outcome: Securing a world-class marketing leader

Birchbox successfully appointed Sarah Wilkinson as Marketing Director. Bringing significant consumer marketing leadership experience, Sarah joined the business to lead marketing across acquisition, retention, brand, ecommerce, and trading functions.

The appointment strengthened Birchbox's leadership team and provided the expertise required to support continued expansion in the UK and beyond.

Candidate Thought Count: 1

Hear from our successful candidates...

I found 3Search Executive to be highly professional – rigorous in their questioning to ensure the correct synergy between myself and the role as well as going above and beyond so I was prepared at interview stage. They were always available and a great support throughout the entire process. As a result I would highly recommend them both when looking for another role and we are likely to use them where appropriate moving forward for recruitment into our business.
Marketing Director

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Michael Judkins Customer Experience & Growth Director

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