Welcome to this episode of the Marketing Vanguard podcast. Today, Jenny Rooney speaks with Francis Perrin, chief brand and sustainability officer at Rehlko, about brand transformation and B2B marketing innovation.
Francis discusses his career, from P&G and L’Oréal to leading the transformation of Kohler Energy into the independent company Rehlko. He shares the strategic thinking behind the rebrand, including how they created the name Rehlko as an anagram of Kohler to maintain heritage while establishing independence.
The conversation explores the opportunity in residential power generation, competing as a challenger brand against industry giants, and why Francis believes B2B marketing offers more opportunities than consumer marketing.
Prior to Rehlko, Francis’ career spanned major CPG brands including Pernod Ricard, where he gained extensive international experience managing global brands and digital innovation. He previously held CMO roles at Bell Brands and Saint Michel Wine Estates before transitioning to B2B marketing.
Episode Highlights:
[03:09] The Kohler Energy Heritage Story — Francis explains the history behind Rehlko’s foundation: “Kohler is known for their kitchen and bath things, but it’s actually a very large company that does more. As they manufactured bathtubs early in the 20th century, they also got into the engine business. Once you have a foundry, they created the first engines and also the first generators initially to equip farmers in the Midwest, where they didn’t have access to electricity.” This heritage story becomes central to Rehlko’s brand positioning as it establishes independence while honoring its century-plus legacy.
[06:35] The Strategic Rebrand from Kohler to Rehlko — Francis reveals the creative solution behind the name Rehlko: “Our challenge was to come up with a new name. We have a lot of business partners that were so attached to the Kohler brand. The creative solution was finding the name Rehlko, an anagram of Kohler, but there’s a lot of intentionality and purpose in it. The first two letters, R and E, stand for resilience and reinvention.”
[11:11] The “Resilience as Reinvention” Campaign Strategy — Francis discusses their launch campaign: “Resilience is a very important word for us. We’re one of the first companies to really try to own that word. We provide power where and when the grid doesn’t.” This positioning helps differentiate Rehlko in a crowded industrial market by focusing on the core value proposition rather than technical specifications.
[18:03] Embedding Sustainability in Brand Leadership — Francis explains his unique title structure: “Often, sustainability teams are separate from the business. It’s one of their challenges to get attention. I think by embedding it in the brand, we’re able to make sure everyone’s working on it in the C-suite. I’m the one who brings up the topic in the C-suite in our meetings.” This integration ensures sustainability isn’t treated as a separate initiative but as core to business strategy.
