Hilary Neve
Hilary Neve is a communications and marketing executive known for shaping strategic direction and advising C-suite leaders on building and scaling leading technology and AI companies. A results-oriented innovator, Neve leverages data-driven tools to grow brands and connect them with cultural shifts.
Building Brands Through Storytelling
I started my career as one of the founding members of YOOX.com, the Italian fashion e-commerce company that launched before online shopping became mainstream. Working across Europe and the U.S. gave me an early understanding of the industry. Based in Italy, I worked across both European and U.S. markets, eventually helping expand the business into New York. The company went on to become a major industry player, later acquiring Net-a-Porter.
That experience eventually led me to establish my own agency, banzai! where I focused on helping European brands enter the U.S. market. I’ve worked with brands like Zara and Jean Paul Gaultier. After Google acquired boutiques.com, I helped grow the business there. I spent 13 years expanding consumer communications across multiple business lines and helping position Google beyond technology and business media into lifestyle conversations.
As I looked for the next step, I was drawn to SharkNinja’s consumer-first mindset, speed and willingness to embrace experimentation. Today, I focus on creating culturally relevant partnerships that strengthen brand awareness and connect with consumers around the world.
Being part of the rise of e-commerce taught me that every great product needs a great story. That’s where partnerships and communications make the biggest difference.
Earned Media in the AI Era
The role of earned media is evolving as LLMs increasingly influence how people discover information.
This creates new opportunities for partnerships and brand communications. Strong stories no longer cut through traditional channels. They can also influence how information is surfaced within AI-driven environments.
Earned media represents 40 to 60 percent of LLM recommendations today, empowering partnerships and communications. It doesn’t only have to cut through in earned media, but earned media cuts through in LLMs as well, creating an ecosystem.
Measuring Partnership Success
Partnerships often involve multiple stakeholders with a mix of awareness. In my experience, maintaining alignment starts with having clear success metrics.
Being part of the rise of e-commerce taught me that every great product needs a great story. That’s where partnerships and communications make the biggest difference.
One challenge is that many traditional measurement models do not fully reflect the impact of partnerships and communications. Metrics like awareness and point-of-sale performance exist, but looking at them separately only tells part of the story.
At SharkNinja, we continue to refine how we evaluate these efforts. Having everyone work from the same understanding of performance helps keep teams aligned.
Turning Culture into Partnerships
One initiative I am proud of was the launch of SharkNinja’s ChillPill, a personal cooling system that launched in April. As part of my role, I always look at what’s happening in the market and the cultural moments that align with this product.
For this campaign, we identified Coachella as a cultural moment that fit naturally with the product and built partnerships that felt genuine. We collaborated with Justin Bieber to create a limited-edition ChillPill in a colorway that reflected his brand, giving him creative ownership while generating significant engagement and earned media around the launch.
The concept was also extended beyond the U.S. We adapted it to local festivals and events, including France’s We Love Green festival and music events in Germany.
Creativity Begins with Relationships
My advice is to invest in relationships from the very beginning. Over time, those connections often lead to new ideas and opportunities.
Stay close to creators and cultural conversations. Many cultural moments begin within those communities before reaching wider audiences. Most importantly, never stop being creative. Some of the strongest partnerships come from taking ideas further than people initially expect.
