• Brandweek, Monday, April 20, 2009 11 AM

Suzanne Watson was once a guard on the NCAA Division I women's basketball team at Syracuse University. Now she manages the Tide business at Procter & Gamble. The two roles require similar qualities, according to recruiter Howard Gross, including being "comfortable being in the limelight, and being held accountable, and, most importantly, being able to tolerate pressure."

Watson is more than up to the challenge, Elaine Wong reports in looking at a day at work for the 34-year-old mother of two that includes a screening of a new "Tide Loads of Hope" commercial. "I'm so energized by seeing change and moving things forward that sometimes," Watson says, "I'm eager to move a bit faster than my feet can carry me."

After earning her MBA at the University of Michigan, Watson joined P&G as an assistant brand manager for Era in 2001. As associate marketing director for Tide -- traditionally a farm team for P&G leadership -- she's responsible for everything from marketing and research to focus groups and finance.

Robert Klara adds an interesting sidebar on the history of Tide, which literally was known as Project X before marketers came aboard in 1945.

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