<div class="gn-article"><div class="gn-hero gn-reveal"> <div class="gn-hero__image"><img src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/687a235da6861294eec73166/69fa71034999eeee6a5020e9_rhodri-evans-whats-the-one-thing-68b06af166cfc821009212.jpeg" alt=""></div> <div class="gn-hero__head"> <span class="gn-kicker"><span class="dot"></span>Expression</span> <h1 class="gn-title">What&#39;s the One Thing? ... with Rhodri Evans - Ex-Gucci, Levi&#39;s &amp; Asics</h1> <div class="gn-meta"> <strong>The GO Network</strong> <span class="pip"></span> <span>3 September 2025</span> <span class="pip"></span> <span>6 min read</span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="gn-body"> <figure class="gn-fig gn-reveal"> <div class="gn-fig__media"><img src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/687a235da6861294eec73166/69fcaff8fb18b64d66708a3a_69fcaff40cc43485006f20e7_re-688114e67414f809498569.jpeg" alt="Rhodri Evans - Brand Consultant & Cultural Strategist"></div> <figcaption>Rhodri Evans, Brand Consultant &amp; Cultural Strategist</figcaption> </figure> <p class="gn-lede gn-reveal"><em>Rhodri Evans is a senior brand and marketing leader with over two decades of experience delivering fame, engagement, and commercial growth for global brands.</em></p> <p class="gn-reveal"><em>He understands the realities brand owners face, the complexities of navigating growth, and the solutions that unlock success.</em></p> <p class="gn-reveal"><em>Most recently, he led Brand and Client Engagement for Gucci across Northern Europe, where he redefined how luxury fashion connects with broader culture. Prior to that, Rhodri spent ten years at Levi's, playing a central role in repositioning the brand at the heart of culture as EMEA lead for Brand Content and Experience.</em></p> <p class="gn-reveal"><em>His early career was shaped at ASICS, where he blended heritage with innovation in senior roles across Onitsuka Tiger and SportStyle in the UK.</em></p> <div class="gn-divider gn-reveal" aria-hidden="true"></div> <h2 class="gn-reveal">What's the one thing you wish you'd known before starting out in your career, and why?</h2> <p class="gn-reveal">That no one expects you to have all the answers.</p> <p class="gn-reveal">During my early career, I probably put too much pressure on myself to be able to give all the answers and to have all angles covered both within my organisation and when looking at the external landscape.</p> <p class="gn-reveal">As I gained more experience and became more assured of my ability and where my strengths lay, I learnt the importance of saying 'I don't know' and the openness to be able to ask for help or advice. In the vast and ever-changing spectrum of brand building, leaning on subject matter experts is an absolute necessity.</p> <p class="gn-reveal">All the way to the very top of the very biggest global businesses I've worked in, there are certain things that are as of yet unknown.</p> <p class="gn-reveal">One of the biggest strengths of the leadership I have worked under is the admission of this, and one of the greatest joys I've taken throughout my career is the journey to that knowledge, understanding the opportunity it represents for your organisation, and the sense of collaboration you feel with others along the way.</p> <figure class="gn-fig gn-reveal"> <div class="gn-fig__media"><img src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/687a235da6861294eec73166/69fcaff8fb18b64d66708a40_69fcaff4f0a49dc27ea99f31_stress-689b5861bbb46854365943.jpeg" alt=""></div> </figure> <div class="gn-divider gn-reveal" aria-hidden="true"></div> <h2 class="gn-reveal">What's the one routine or ritual that helps you stay focused or grounded at work?</h2> <p class="gn-reveal">Regular connection to the realities of the marketplace.</p> <p class="gn-reveal">It's all too easy to be consumed by workload and the fast pace of life whilst squirrelled away in an office or showroom, but throughout my career, I've always prioritised the importance of getting out into the marketplace, and it's something I have always impressed on my teams.</p> <aside class="gn-quote gn-reveal"><q>Not doing regular retail safaris is akin to sailing blind into a storm and always provides me with a timely reminder of exactly who it is we are talking to.</q><cite>Rhodri Evans · Brand Consultant &amp; Cultural Strategist</cite></aside> <p class="gn-reveal">Although I'm now expanding to work across many different sectors, my career to date has been within the fashion and sports apparel industry, and in this world, perhaps like no other, the connection to retail can truly make the difference.</p> <p class="gn-reveal">To be able to see and hear first-hand the people who are choosing your products, or are passing you by to visit a competitor, is truly a gift, and the snippets of intel you pick up whilst on market visits can often divert your thinking away from a potential mistake and can even provide the unlock to true brand resonance.</p> <figure class="gn-fig gn-reveal"> <div class="gn-fig__media"><img src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/687a235da6861294eec73166/69fcaff8fb18b64d66708a46_69fcaff5a255783551e5f3c0_image221-689b5862e7407341703400.png" alt=""></div> </figure> <div class="gn-divider gn-reveal" aria-hidden="true"></div> <h2 class="gn-reveal">What's the one talk, article or idea you return to again and again, and why?</h2> <p class="gn-reveal">I guess it may now have even become cliché to reference this, but the piece of thinking that I most regularly find myself circling back to is <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action?language=en">Simon Sinek's 'Why' TED Talk from 2009.</a></p> <p class="gn-reveal">Simon's thinking all those years ago, that in a crowded marketplace, people don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it, offered a grounding principle in an environment that's constantly shifting. Amid rapid changes in consumer behaviour, technology, and channel complexity, it's easy to become reactive and focus too much on metrics, tactics, or what competitors are doing. Sinek's framework reminds me to pause and ask the most important question: Why are we doing this? That simple prompt refocuses energy on the purpose, not just the performance.</p> <p class="gn-reveal">I've always found that this clarity of purpose creates coherence, inspires creativity, and fosters long-term trust with audiences.</p> <p class="gn-reveal">Internally, it's helped me shape culture, giving teams something meaningful to rally around beyond KPIs or deadlines.</p> <p class="gn-reveal">Returning to the "Why" is not just a marketing tactic; it's a leadership compass. It ensures that decisions are rooted in authenticity and long-term value, rather than surface-level noise. In moments of complexity, it brings clarity, and in times of doubt, it always offers me direction.</p> <figure class="gn-fig gn-reveal"> <div class="gn-fig__media"><img src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/687a235da6861294eec73166/69fcaff8fb18b64d66708a37_69fcaff60a7b35485c176823_leadership-video-from-tedxpugetsound-simon-sinek-9-17-09-youtube-689b5861b3328646932090.jpeg" alt="Simon Sinek's 'Why' TED Talk"></div> <figcaption>Simon Sinek's 'Why' TED Talk from 2009, a reference Rhodri Evans returns to regularly.</figcaption> </figure> <div class="gn-divider gn-reveal" aria-hidden="true"></div> <h2 class="gn-reveal">What's the one trend or shift you're paying close attention to, and why?</h2> <p class="gn-reveal">Having recently moved away from in-house brand leadership, I had a front row seat for a shift that is underway in how brands leverage external support to build their relevance.</p> <p class="gn-reveal">Even for some of the biggest global brands, the traditional agency model is becoming outdated in favour of more agile networks of thinkers and doers who often have a more tangible connection to the cultural truths that unlock brand engagement.</p> <p class="gn-reveal">Identifying this shift was a big catalyst in my decision to move across the waters to agency land and what was a more traditional agency offering, and it's the reason why at Liquid we have redrawn our model more in this future-facing vision.</p> <p class="gn-reveal">We are focused on an agile in-house team that provides client consistency, but then really championing our network of experts to build bespoke 'dream teams' for any given client challenge.</p> <p class="gn-reveal">The broader shift within all of this of course is driven by that little development called AI. Businesses providing brand support are applying more focus to their strategic thinking capabilities in the face of technological advances that make creative execution more automated, strategic thinking, for now at least, remains a purely human endeavour.</p> <figure class="gn-fig gn-reveal"> <div class="gn-fig__media"><img src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/687a235da6861294eec73166/69fcaff8fb18b64d66708a34_69fcaff6f0a49dc27ea9a125_the-dream-team-689b5861ba531370986301.jpeg" alt=""></div> </figure> <div class="gn-divider gn-reveal" aria-hidden="true"></div> <h2 class="gn-reveal">What's the one question you always ask when you're trying to figure someone out?</h2> <p class="gn-reveal">If it were one question, it would be 'what do you do when you're not working', although in reality I'm not sure I can hear myself ever asking such a cliché lifted straight from a Googled list of interview questions!</p> <p class="gn-reveal">But the sentiment I stand by, and it's around finding out where work fits into a person's life. For me, it's really important to understand a person's cultural reference points, which provide such a strong set of tools for how someone approaches a challenge, how they will deal with setbacks and what success looks like to them.</p> <p class="gn-reveal">On a day-to-day basis, being able to separate the stresses of work from the solace of personal life is massively important, but if it were an interview situation, and especially for roles where cultural connection are paramount, being able to naturally show that coming to work would just be an extension of an existing life's passion, and that you innately understand the landscape you work in, is far more important than any glittering CV or first class education.</p> <p class="gn-reveal">On the flip side, when I've been leading teams on the high-pressure treadmill of fashion and things are particularly intense, I always like to remind everyone around me that at the end of the day, it's just a job and we're not saving lives!</p> <figure class="gn-fig gn-reveal"> <div class="gn-fig__media"><img src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/687a235da6861294eec73166/69fcaff8fb18b64d66708a3d_69fcaff70cc43485006f22db_0x0-689b5861c0fd9376123525.webp" alt=""></div> </figure> <div class="gn-divider gn-reveal" aria-hidden="true"></div> <h2 class="gn-reveal">And finally: What's the one "What's the one thing" question you would like to see us ask future guests?</h2> <p class="gn-reveal">What's the one most unpopular professional decision you've ever made - but you'd take again?</p> <div class="gn-divider gn-reveal" aria-hidden="true"></div> <p class="gn-reveal"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/rhodrievans1/">Connect</a></p> <p class="gn-reveal"><em>Thanks to Rhodri for sharing his reflections, insights, and refreshingly honest perspective with us.</em></p> <p class="gn-reveal"><em>From lessons in leadership to the value of retail safaris, strategic clarity, and changing agency models, his answers reflect the depth and cultural understanding behind some of the world's most recognised brands.</em></p> <p class="gn-reveal">If you'd like to take part in <em>What's the One Thing?</em>, we'd love to hear from you – <a target="_new" rel="noopener" href="https://thegonetwork.fillout.com/whats-the-one-thing">submit your thoughts here</a></p> <p class="gn-reveal"><em>Thanks for reading What's the One Thing?</em></p> </div></div>