Marco Ancora
DEFRITEN
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Strategic Partnership Lead · QoQa

Marco
Ancora

More than ten years in marketing & sales, with roots in construction and building materials. I connect brand management, go-to-market and business development, and I follow through.

Get in touch → LinkedIn →

Marco Ancora in a dark blue jacket against a light background

I started out on the building site. Today I bring brand, marketing and sales together.

From plasterer in the family business, through account and key account management in construction, to managing director of a national association.

Portrait of Marco Ancora with glasses, jacket and white T-shirt

Profile

A clear position. A go-to-market that holds.

Today, as Strategic Partnership Lead at QoQa, I develop new business areas and partnerships for German-speaking Switzerland. What interests me is where brand, marketing and sales meet: a clear position, a go-to-market that holds, and partnerships that work for both sides.

The CAS Brand Leadership gives my brand management practice a strategic and methodical foundation. I am currently completing the MAS Sales Excellence at HWZ.

Core skills

  • Brand management & positioning
  • Go-to-market & market development
  • Business development
  • B2B sales & key account management
  • Pricing & value proposition
  • Market & competitor analysis
  • Sales enablement
  • CRM & data-driven management

In numbers

6
board, committee and jury roles since 2023
10+
years in marketing & sales
10,000+
professionals and managers in the association I led

Career

From construction to marketing & sales.

  1. 012012–2015

    The trade

    Apprenticeship as a plasterer in the family business R. Ancora GmbH, followed by project responsibility.

    R. Ancora GmbH

  2. 022015–2024

    Sales in construction

    Account management at Hilti, key account management and team leadership at Saint-Gobain Weber, national key accounts at James Hardie.

    Hilti · Saint-Gobain Weber · James Hardie

  3. 032023–2026

    Association and transformation

    From the board to the central board and on to managing director of the Swiss Marketing Association: repositioning, rebranding, modernised CRM and data. Alongside, managing director of suxxess.org AG.

    Swiss Marketing Association · suxxess.org · hajni

  4. 04since 2026

    Partnerships

    As Strategic Partnership Lead at QoQa, I develop new business areas and partnerships for German-speaking Switzerland.

    QoQa

All roles in detail

  1. 05/2026 – today

    Strategic Partnership Lead

    QoQa · Zurich · E-commerce

    • New business areas and strategic partnerships for German-speaking Switzerland.
    • Go-to-market approaches, value propositions and commercial models; partnership process from acquisition to performance analysis.

  2. 02/2025 – 03/2026

    Managing Director

    Swiss Marketing Association · Zurich · Association

    • Overall responsibility for the national professional association for marketing and sales, with more than 10,000 professionals and managers.
    • Repositioning and rebranding, transformation of services and organisation, modernisation of CRM and data structure.

  3. 12/2025 – 03/2026

    Managing Director

    suxxess.org AG · Zurich · Additional mandate

    • Organisation and quality assurance of the federally recognised professional and advanced professional examinations in marketing and sales.

  4. 09/2024 – 11/2024

    Head of Marketing & Sales (interim)

    hajni GmbH · Zurich · UX design agency

    • Marketing and sales setup with CRM, pipeline logic and lead and opportunity scoring.

  5. 08/2023 – 08/2024

    National Key Account Manager

    James Hardie Europe · Münsingen · Building materials

    • National key accounts, including large companies and public clients.
    • Market and competitor analysis, pricing and offer design, working with product management and marketing.

  6. 08/2020 – 07/2023

    Key Account Manager & Sales Team Lead

    Saint-Gobain Weber AG · Baden · Building materials

    • Led a sales team of eight.
    • Revenue growth of 98 % in the managed customer portfolio, with improved contribution margins.

  7. 05/2020 – 07/2020

    Marketing Manager

    Inter Networking AG · Dietikon · Cybersecurity

    • Marketing activities, digital campaigns and lead generation together with sales.

  8. 02/2015 – 04/2020

    Account Manager & Customer Trainer

    Hilti Schweiz AG · Adliswil · Construction and fastening technology

    • Regional customer portfolio in professional construction, product and application training.

  9. 08/2012 – 01/2015

    Plasterer (Swiss VET) / project lead

    R. Ancora GmbH · Adliswil · Family business

    • Apprenticeship, followed by project responsibility in the family business.

Education

Learning where practice meets method.

University

  • since 2023 MAS Sales Excellencefinal phase
  • 2024–2025 CAS Brand Leadership
  • 2024 CAS Sales Management
  • 2023–2024 CAS Customer Relationship Management

HWZ University of Applied Sciences in Business Administration Zurich

Further qualifications

  • Marketing Manager, Swiss College of Higher Education (HF)
  • Marketing Specialist with Federal Diploma of Higher Education
  • Online Marketing Manager (diploma)
  • Digital Media Specialist (certificate)
  • Marketing & Sales Specialist (certificate)
  • Senior Marketing Professional (SMP)

Languages

German
native
Italian
native
English
very good professional proficiency
French
basic, improving

Brands

Two brands of my own under the Ancora name.

Alongside my employment, I run two brands with their own presence.

Contact

Write to me.

For partnerships, projects or a conversation about marketing & sales, the best way to reach me is by email or on LinkedIn.

Marco Ancora smiling with arms crossed