the bench
Meet our trusted bench of CFOs and specialists, on call to offer outsourced support and solutions to your unique business challenges.
meet Lesley McIntosh
Lesley McIntosh is a Fractional Chief Marketing Officer & Strategic Advisor. With 20 years of marketing experience, she has held marketing leadership roles at Procter & Gamble, L'Oréal Paris, Philips, and Revlon, where she served as Vice President of Marketing for the company's flagship brand. Her experience spans brand strategy, P&L leadership, portfolio management, go-to-market, and integrated marketing across beauty & personal care, home, wine & spirits, and other consumer categories.
Today, through her consultancy, Brand Botany, Lesley partners with founders, CEOs, and leadership teams of growth-stage consumer brands preparing to scale. She helps organizations clarify growth strategy, strengthen brand positioning, prioritize innovation, optimize marketing investment, and translate strategy into commercial execution across retail and DTC channels.
Specialties:
Growth Strategy
Brand Strategy
Portfolio & Innovation Strategy
Go-to-Market Strategy
Retail & Commercialization
Integrated Marketing
Marketing Organization & Capability Building
Marketing Investment & Budget Optimization
Agency Leadership
Billing: Primarily flat-fee retainers and fixed-fee strategic projects. Hourly advisory is available for select engagements.
Rates: Available upon request.
Favorite type of client: Founder-led, private equity-backed, and growth-stage consumer brands preparing to scale, expand into new channels, attract new consumers, launch new products, or clarify their growth strategy. Primary industry focus includes beauty & personal care, wellness, home, wine & spirits, and other lifestyle-driven consumer industries.
Most rewarding engagement: "The most rewarding engagements are those where strategy creates lasting business impact. Helping leadership teams solve complex challenges and make better decisions is the part of the work I enjoy most.”
Something personal about Lesley: For five years, Lesley founded and operated LUVI Beauty & Wellness, an online retailer featuring more than 600 products from over 30 emerging beauty and wellness brands. The experience gave her firsthand insight into entrepreneurship and continues to shape how she advises founders today.
Outside of work, she enjoys traveling, pickleball, relaxing on the beach or by the pool, and spending time with family and friends.