From brand builder to business operator: The unconventional career blueprint behind one executive’s C-suite rise

In the corporate world, we are conditioned to look up. We obsess over the next rung, the bigger title, and the direct path to the corner office. But if you ask Seth Kaufman, chief commercial officer at Philip Morris International (PMI) U.S., the secret to reaching the C-suite is not a ladder at all. It is a lattice.

Kaufman’s career arc, spanning nearly two decades at PepsiCo, a high-stakes pivot into the luxury world of LVMH, and now a leadership role at a tobacco giant undergoing an ambitious transformation, is a case study in the power of the uncomfortable lateral move.

Kaufman started as a marketer. Early on, he says he realized that great leaders need both depth and range. He focused on developing what he calls a “hip pocket” skill, one core expertise you can always rely on as you take career risks. For him, that skill was brand building. It gave him credibility while he pushed himself into unfamiliar territory. That meant stepping away from PepsiCo headquarters and into Frito-Lay’s Midwest field operations, where feet-on-the-street grit and frontline decisions on pricing, sales, and logistics shaped real-time results.

That assignment became a turning point. Leading a business in the field forced him to confront the mechanics behind the P&L, from finance to operations, areas that many marketers avoid. The lesson was clear: If you want to run a company, you need to........

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