Suzanne Bősze Irving is an international marketing professional whose career spans over a thirty-year period and includes many successful worldwide projects.  She worked with major multinational companies such as Royal Philips N.V. in the Netherlands and France, Clairol, Inc., Citicorp and Plaza Bank in the United States. This wide experience gave her a wealth of exposure to every facet of the demanding field of marketing. She is well known for taking full advantage of the digital age and pioneering new creative ideas for marketing management.

Her career involved every step of the marketing management process. She started in market research, and then was part of the management group responsible for the worldwide launch of the Philips Ladyshave, the first electric shaver for women on the market. It was probably also the first internationally harmonized product introduction. This launch was so successful that it became a case study in international marketing seminars.

Working in the global headquarters of Philips, she was part of an innovative team that realized products can be launched successfully only if they are developed together with a complete marketing strategy involving each element of the marketing mix. It had to be a package deal with all elements of the marketing mix in perfect harmony. Previously, companies tended to develop a product and then retain an advertising agency to independently dream up a campaign. Many product failures (like New Coke for example) were due to lack of a consistent marketing strategy.

In the United States, one of her most interesting projects was the design of an entire analytical and planning system for Citicorp’s products. During that time, she realized the need for software that took a planner step by step through the planning process, guaranteeing a consistent strategy. Mrs. Irving concluded there was a need for a software program that is not only a planning system but also an everyday, practical management tool. As a result, she designed a software program that she, and marketing executives, needed in order to more effectively manage a brand in their day-to-day operations. Thus, was born MARFIN The Marketing Manager. Once the software was designed, it was an automatic step to write a handbook for the user. The book turned out to be so comprehensive that it became an excellent teaching instrument.

During her entire career, Mrs. Irving pondered how to take the many market research reports off bookshelves and make the data available live in its marketing context at a click. As a solution, she designed two new concepts: the SmartDatabase and the SmartChart while cloud computing provided the necessary technology.

The SmartDatabase design makes the information available in its marketing context at a click, and SmartCharts enable the users to manipulate and analyze the live data at a click and develop data based successful strategies.

Based on the MARFIN marketing management system, Mrs. Irving taught a course on Business Analysis and Planning at the Budapest University of Economic Science. It was also in Hungary that the first version of her book was published, called A Practical Guide to Marketing Planning.

Mrs. Irving holds MBA degrees from the University of Vienna and New York University Stern School of Business.