The HR portal didn't give me a field for this. So I did something unexpected.
An application for Brand Marketing leadership, LATAM & Caribbean — by Maik Schaefer
Read on
I'm going to be honest: I am not a traditional marketing director.
I've never worked at an agency. I've never had "Brand" in my title. But I have built a company from scratch, sat on an executive board driving $800M in revenue, led market entry at Munich Re and Amazon, and launched the fastest-growing digital channel at a top-5 financial services company.
I'm applying because I believe I'm the kind of profile Ennismore describes but rarely receives: someone who has done genuinely different things, in genuinely different environments, across genuinely different cultures.
The range
Founder
Mango Life — Mexico's first fully digital regulated broker
Corporate Innovation
HDI — Germany's 3rd-largest insurer
Big Tech
Amazon — LatAm Product Marketing
Executive Board
PayJoy — $300M+ revenue, $50M+ profit fintech
Country Manager
PosiTrace — Canadian IoT company, Mexico ops
Languages
English, Spanish & German — fluent in all three
Each jump was deliberate. Each required me to unlearn what worked before and figure out what works here.
A theory of versatility
More range, more patterns
The relationship between breadth of experience and business versatility — as I've lived it
Full circle
Early in my career at Munich Re, I spent years working with hotel groups and travel industry partners across Latin America and Asia — developing products and go-to-market strategies adapted to each region. Hospitality was my first window into how culture, brand, and commercial strategy intersect differently in every market.
Coming to Ennismore would mean returning to the industry where I first learned that global thinking means nothing without local feeling — but now with fifteen years of additional range.
My kind of week
One more honest thing: I thrive when no two weeks look the same.
Monday — review a property's P&L with the GM, flag where marketing can move the needle
Tuesday — give creative feedback on a campaign for an upcoming opening
Wednesday — onboard a new marketing hire, show them how the brand comes alive on property
Thursday — fly to a resort to walk every guest touchpoint and drive change where needed
Friday — negotiate a brand collaboration that gives us new stories and new audiences
That's not chaos to me. That's where I do my best work.
Why Ennismore
I've been paying attention. What excites me is that you seem to genuinely mean it when you say you do things differently.
Dis-loyalty
Not a loyalty program with a cheeky name — a structural bet against the industry's favorite mechanic.
Brand over region
Organizing by brand instead of geography isn't a strategy footnote — it's what protects what makes your hotels worth visiting.
LATAM momentum
SLS Playa Mujeres. Hyde and Mama Shelter coming to CDMX. The Royal Holiday acquisition. Six resorts across Mexico's coast.
Accor partnership
"Do not let us commoditize your brands." That's not standard corporate M&A language. That's a signal.
You need someone in the region who can do all of this — and who treats the brand story as something that lives in every touchpoint, not just the Instagram grid.
The point
I have spent my career being the person in the room who wasn't supposed to be there.
The German founder in Mexican fintech
The startup CEO advising on reinsurance strategy
The product marketer who also held P&L responsibility
I don't see that as a weakness. At a company that hires for curiosity, range, and the ability to get things done without a manual — I think it's exactly the point.
I'd love the chance to discuss how my experience could contribute to the next chapter of your LATAM story.
