With over 15 years of executive leadership across global markets and diverse industries, Ed Stening is a growth-focused leader with a passion for building brands that challenge the status quo.
As Co-Founder and CEO of Posca Hydrate, he has partnered with Aussie comedian and presenter Merrick Watts to reinvent hydration, transforming a 2,000-year-old Roman drink into a modern, functional beverage brand that blends ancient wisdom with contemporary science.
Having lived and worked in seven countries, Stening brings a global perspective on consumer behaviour, brand-building, and scaling businesses across cultures. His career spans leadership roles at Beam Suntory as Global Marketing Director and at Lion as General Manager Spirits, where he drove brand strategy, category growth, and international expansion.
Now into our second season of B&T’s CMOs To Watch, presented by Zenith, Stening joins the ranks of visionary marketing leaders redefining the playbook. This series celebrates those who balance bold ideas with business impact and have a whole lot of fun along the way.
Speaking with B&T, Stening offers a glimpse into the strategies driving Posca Hydrate’s growth, from distribution and storytelling to building a brand with global resonance.
B&T: Let’s get to know you… What three things would you take to a desert island?
Stening: A Big Green Egg, a lifetime supply of ribs, and a crate of Posca Hydrate to keep me from dehydrating while I overcook them.
B&T: What is your passion outside of work? If you weren’t a CMO, what would you be doing?
Stening: I’ve always been fascinated by culture through flavour. I’ve lived and worked in seven countries, and each one has left its mark. From the way people share meals to how they connect. My wife Camilla’s a wine expert (WSET4), so food and travel have always been part of how we explore the world together. Now our teenage kids are old enough to join in properly (not just mac’n’cheese), it’s become less about ticking countries off and more about experiencing them properly.
B&T: What was your favourite campaign of all time?
Stening: I’ve been obsessed with Ads since I was a kid growing up in Armidale. I used to record commercials on VHS and study how the messaging and craft came together to make people feel something. There are the obvious classics that every marketer still admires; Carlton Draught’s Big Ad, Apple Mac vs PC, Old Spice. But more recently I’ve been fascinated by Liquid Death’s launch campaign. On the surface it’s absurd: branding water like a death-metal band. But it’s masterful in how it blends tone, storytelling and conviction. It’s proof that personality, clarity and bravery can cut through in any category and that’s something we’ve carried into Posca Hydrate.
B&T: Now let’s talk shop. What is your brand’s top priority for the next 12 months?
Stening: Building distribution and brand love for the Ancient Elixir. We’ve launched Posca Hydrate into thousands of stores across Australia, and the next step is deepening that reach through our new partnership with SPC. From there, it’s about earning our space in fridges, not just through distribution, but through loyalty and storytelling. The next phase is scaling that energy globally, with our first international launches in the UAE and others already underway.
B&T: What channel is exciting you the most and how do you split your marketing budgets between long/short and channels mix?
Stening: I’m a big believer in Mark Ritson’s full-funnel philosophy. You have to build long-term brand salience while driving short-term action. We invest heavily in ATL to build mental availability and fame, especially as we head into summer, but we also balance that with strong content for digital and social (@poscahydrate). Having an in-house creative team and studio means we can deliver both ends of the funnel; fast, consistent, and always on brand. It’s strategy and storytelling moving at the same pace.
B&T: What is the biggest challenge you currently face in the marketplace?
Stening: The liquid’s incredible, Merrick Watts and the team have done an amazing job bringing this 2,000-year-old elixir back to life. The hard part is cutting through. Everyone’s chasing the same few seconds of attention, so our focus now is building a brand that stands for something; authenticity, curiosity and real enjoyment. Selling is one thing; being remembered is the goal.
B&T: What are you most excited about in the marketplace?
Stening: The market’s finally waking up. Across every corner of beverages, from soft drinks to sports drinks, our consumers are demanding more. They still want things that taste great, but they also expect them to be better for them. The big guys are overcomplicating that, baffling people with claims and confusion. That’s where Posca Hydrate lands: a clean, functional hydration soda that proves performance and enjoyment can live in the same can, without the sh*t.
B&T: Where do you see yourself in five years time?
Stening: Still building Posca Hydrate into a truly global brand, shoulder to shoulder with Merrick and the team. Our ambition is to create an Australian legacy brand that stands proudly on shelves around the world. We’ll keep doing it with the same curiosity, courage and conviction we started with. That’s the Posca way.
B&T: Speaking hypothetically, what’s one brand, product or category you’d like to sink your teeth into right now as a marketer?
Stening: I’m fascinated by how brands evolve from culture, not campaigns. The real challenge now is turning relevance into longevity, taking what Gen Z connects with today and building it into something timeless. The brands doing it best; Liquid Death, Gymshark, Erewhon have outgrown the algorithm by knowing exactly who they are and staying true to it. That’s what excites me: building something so authentic and consistent it becomes part of people’s identity. That’s how you go from a trend to a legacy.
B&T: Zenith believes there is untapped media potential we need to uncover. What is your prediction for media this year?
Stening: The pendulum’s swinging back from performance to brand, thank God. Media will reward creativity, consistency and distinctive voices, the stuff algorithms can’t fake. The next wave belongs to brands that behave like creators and build communities, not campaigns.
