Gabriela Bardin joined Procter & Gamble in 1998 as a marketing assistant. She was in her early twenties, beginning a career that would take her through several departments. In 2019, after more than twenty years at P&G, she took charge of the Argentine subsidiary. No Argentine woman had previously held the position.
She became responsible for an operation with around one thousand employees and two factories, in Pilar and San Luis. The company’s brands included Pampers, Pantene, Gillette and Head & Shoulders.
The pandemic arrived six months into her tenure. The factories remained open, while office employees began working from home. Near the end of her time in charge, Bardin had to explain another decision: P&G would sell Ariel and Magistral in Argentina, along with its Pilar factory. She stepped down as general manager in late 2023, after just over four years in the role.
A career that began in marketing
After studying Business Administration at the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina, Bardin joined P&G in 1998. She started in marketing, moved into Sales and eventually became general manager. She left the company in late 2023.
During her first eleven years, she worked across different marketing categories. She became a director and spent seven years leading the beauty and hair care business, which included brands such as Pantene, Head & Shoulders and Herbal Essences.
After marketing came Sales. She led the department in Argentina for nine years, working with the different channels through which P&G reached its customers: supermarkets, neighborhood grocery stores and, later, online retail platforms.
From Buenos Aires, she also directed marketing for P&G Chile. She received several offers to move abroad, but said they never came at the right time.
On September 1, 2019, she succeeded Fernando del Carril as general manager of P&G Argentina. She was 44 and reported to Juan Fernando Posada, then the company’s president for Latin America. Six months later, the pandemic began.
An essential business during lockdown
Lockdown forced P&G to reorganize work for its one thousand employees. Around 300 office staff began working from home. The other 700 continued going to the Pilar and San Luis factories to manufacture essential products.
To organize operations during the emergency, Bardin brought the plant managers together in a committee that met three times a week. They also sought medical advice, hiring an infectious disease specialist and introducing measures such as temperature checks and face masks at the factories.
Working breakfasts moved to video calls. Bardin and the leadership team connected with employees at home, with some meetings drawing up to 250 participants. Optional online cooking, dance and yoga classes were also organized, and advice from specialists was shared by email.
Lockdown also changed household shopping habits. In the first few days, many people stocked up on products; purchases later began returning to normal. With bars and restaurants closed, families cooked more at home. That was reflected in Magistral’s sales: more dishes to wash meant greater demand for dishwashing liquid.
During those months, Bardin saw online shopping grow and placed greater emphasis on regular contact with employees and consumers. She believed both changes would continue after the pandemic.
Ariel, Magistral and the Pilar factory
In September 2023, P&G reached an agreement to sell Ariel and Magistral in Argentina to the Argentine company Dreamco. The buyer would also take over the Pilar factory, its production lines and its employees.
Dreamco emerged after Alicorp left the country. For P&G, selling those brands was part of a broader decision to concentrate its resources on products where it expected stronger growth.
Bardin communicated the decision to employees and the public. She clarified that, despite selling the brands, P&G would continue operating in Argentina.
The decision came near the end of her tenure. In November 2023, it became public that she would leave the company at the end of the year, after a career spanning more than twenty-five years.
Work, family and leadership
Bardin has three children. When discussing how she organizes her days, she says she tries to make room for family and work, but also for friends, spirituality and physical well-being. She prefers to consider those parts of her life together rather than trying to separate them.
While leading P&G Argentina, Bardin joined Women Corporate Directors Argentina, the ADIM network of women executives and Fundación Caminando Juntos’ CEO council. She also attended events discussing how to bring more women into leadership positions.
As the first Argentine woman to lead P&G’s local subsidiary, she spoke about the need for more women to reach boards and executive roles. She believes part of that work involves making the careers and achievements of women already in those positions more visible.
The end of a chapter
In early 2024, Alejandro Lorusso took charge of P&G Argentina. An Argentine lawyer, he had spent almost three decades with the company and arrived from his position as vice president of its Mexican operation.
Bardin left after working in marketing, Sales and general management, always based in Argentina. Along the way, she became familiar with brand management, relationships with retailers and factory operations.
When the pandemic arrived, she had to reorganize the company’s work: keep the factories open, stay in contact with employees and respond to changes in household shopping habits.
Before leaving P&G, Bardin communicated the sale of Ariel and Magistral. She was closing a career of more than twenty-five years at the company: she had started as a marketing assistant and spent her final four years leading the Argentine subsidiary.
