In the spotlight: ANDA Peru’s Rodolfo León

I was born and raised in… Lima in 1951, the oldest of six brothers and sisters, born to great parents who gave us a happy childhood. We all went to the same school from kindergarten to high school. The most notable memories that I keep from these early years are those I enjoyed as a boy scout. Being a boy scout gave me the opportunity to experience the great outdoors in the three geographic regions of my country: the coastal deserts, Andean mountains and the Amazon jungle.

I have been married to Brenda for 41 years as of last June. We have three daughters and four grandchildren (so far).

I studied to become… an environmental engineer, a career way ahead of its time in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, but I never got to practice it. Shortly after I graduated I joined P&G Peru for what would later be known as the Product Supply Organization (PSO). I got my MBA from Thunderbird School of Global Management in 2007.

Having held various roles in PSO, I went on several expatriate assignments in the Americas in the ’80s and ’90s. Finally, by family decision, I returned to Peru in 1996 continuing to work for P&G. In 2000 I made a career change to External Relations that would eventually lead to my current position as Managing Director of ANDA Peru. I retired from P&G in 2006 and was invited to lead ANDA in 2010.

My proudest career achievements in the advertising industry are… in connection to ANDA initiatives that received the WFA President’s Award in 2010 and 2017. The first initiative had to do with ANDA’s firm intervention between 2000-2005 to help TV companies recover from collapse in the wake of the downfall of Peru’s autocratic government in the ’90s. We were and are still recognised for our role in setting higher standards for TV content and self-regulation in Peru. The second initiative was on our key role in making advertising self-regulation a key topic on APEC’s agenda, which will hopefully lead to better advertising standards in the 21 participating economies.

Our priorities are… focused on two main areas. First, developing a regulatory environment supportive of advertising activities. Second, developing the capabilities of the whole advertising value chain. We currently do this by communicating and sharing best practices through ANDA’s print and digital magazine as well as in conferences, seminars and talks.

A very specific challenge in the marketing industry in my country is… the implementation of marketing restrictions on HFSS products (food and beverages ‘high in fat, sugar and salt’). This recently became law and will come into force in June 2019. Our work is focused on developing implementation guidelines in coordination with government officials to ensure a smooth transition for brands and consumers. There is also a proposal from the Ministry of Health of Peru to tighten regulation on the advertising of health and beauty products.

Also, with the growing pressure for advertising ROI, a big challenge for the marketing industry in my country is developing adequate metrics for all media. There is room for improvement for traditional and online media metrics, and in Peru, OOH (out-of-home) has no measurement standard at all.

If I could change one thing about the industry today, it would be… accelerating the development of modern retail. In Peru, modern retail represents only about 30% of the retail market, with traditional bodegas still being the largest and most preferred means of shopping.



What most people don’t know about me… my hobby is fly fishing, which is virtually unknown in Peru. It has taken me from the Mexican Caribbean to the Colombian jungle, from the pristine Chilean Patagonia to Tierra del Fuego at the very end of the world.

Three things about my country...

• Peruvians are very hard-working people. Since ancient times, the need to survive in harsh coastal deserts and the rough, steep Andes has molded a culture of hard-working people.

• Peru is a melting pot of different cultures and we are now under the world’s limelight because of our cuisine. When people travel to Peru, they arrive ready with a long itinerary of places to visit and food to try out.

• Leaving behind a legacy of protectionist policies, Peru is actively pursuing bilateral and multilateral international trade agreements as a means for growth and development.

ANDA Peru will host this year's LATAM Regional Meeting on 18-19 September in Lima. Want to know more about Rodolfo? Get in touch with him here.

This is part of a series of monthly interviews with heads of national advertiser associations in WFA membership.