Amber French
Amber French is a seasoned marketing and merchandising professional with more than two decades of experience specializing in promotional marketing and point-of-sale design. Her career began in an unexpected but defining way—starting as an executive administrative assistant at a sports marketing agency, she was quickly thrust into the merchandising and licensing department after a sudden staffing gap. Despite the steep learning curve, Amber embraced the challenge, simultaneously managing senior- and junior-level responsibilities. That “sink or swim” moment became the catalyst for her career, shaping her hands-on, solutions-driven approach and launching her into the world of promotional products.
Over the years, Amber has built a diverse and dynamic career across industries, blending creativity with operational expertise. She has worked with a luxury watch display design firm creating high-end retail displays for prestigious brands like Cartier, Patek Philippe, and Piaget, before transitioning into supply chain and logistics within the spirits industry. There, she supported global brands such as Diageo and Proximo Spirits, gaining deep experience in sourcing, production, and cross-functional collaboration. Today, as Point-of-Sale Manager for whiskeys and luxury tequila at Proximo Spirits, Amber leads creative ideation and execution for displays, wearables, and barware, ensuring impactful brand presence across retail and hospitality environments.
Known for her ability to bring ideas to life, Amber thrives on seeing her work out in the real world—an aspect of her career she finds especially rewarding. She has led award-winning merchandising initiatives, earning recognition through Outstanding Merchandising Awards, and continues to innovate through projects like experiential event activations and custom promotional campaigns. Beyond her professional achievements, Amber is deeply passionate about community and connection, exemplified by initiatives like hosting a singles event at a New York distillery that blended personal purpose with brand storytelling. Creative, resilient, and people-focused, she continues to shape meaningful brand experiences that resonate with both clients and consumers.
• Western Illinois University- B.A.
• Outstanding Merchandising Awards - Speakeasy pole topper for multi-brand whiskey portfolio
• Outstanding Merchandising Awards - Kraken Rum ship (Creative Award)
• Honored Listee-
Marquis Who's Who
• Working Moms of Fairfield County
• Food pantry drives and collections through Fairfield Presbyterian Church
• Annual holiday donation drives for local nonprofits
• Mercy Learning Center of Bridgeport, Inc.
• The Center for Family Justice
• Little Helpers
• Project Night Night
What do you attribute your success to?
I would say two things. One is meditation. My meditation practice is paramount to me in my life. I bring that clarity, that mental clarity, and that calm to every aspect of my life, whether it be parenting, my role at work, my friendships. And it helps me put my best foot forward when I have a calm, clear mind. Secondly, I would say people in rooms that were able to have faith in me. It's so important to be in a room and to give people a chance. There were women in rooms, especially where I work now, that were so supportive. I'll be eternally grateful to them, because truly, in this role, I saw that more than in any other role, honestly, that I've had. It's so important when there's people in the room that support your ideas. It's not just in a vacuum or in a bubble that we win awards and things like that. The only way we can succeed and win awards is when other people in the room acknowledge, accept, and lift up our ideas.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've received is that you don't have to respond in the moment. You can sit with the decision, and you can sit with what next steps will be, and get back to that person the next day. That's a challenge for me, because I'm naturally wanting to get back to people quickly. My positions always have been very deadline-oriented, so I have to work very, very quickly, often, and so it's a knee-jerk reaction often to want to quickly respond. But that was some of the best advice I got, was to sit with making certain decisions for a little while and chew on them before rushing. Because I'm very entrepreneurial, so I often want to just hit the ground running without anything fully baked, and some people have to tell me, like, that's great, but let's slow down a little bit.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say expand the job description before anyone gives you permission to. I've consistently been handed more responsibility in every role that I've had, without the title to match, necessarily, or the accolades. Choosing to do that work anyway, and put my best foot forward each time, means I just kind of learned to define my own measure of success. I didn't have to wait for other people giving me those things, like the title or the promotion. I just did my best work, and then, you know, we get more responsibility that way.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
One of the biggest challenges in my field is measuring the ROI on our display pieces. We work so hard on these beautiful display pieces that are show-stopping and impactful in store, but it can be difficult sometimes to measure the ROI with those displays because they're national, right? They're in a lot of stores. To capture the data from each individual store would be very challenging. That's something that I think, in the future, could be really helpful to see, because while it's great to see our beautiful displays out in the wild and feel drawn to it as a consumer ourselves, it's hard sometimes to measure that lift. In terms of challenges more broadly, the beverage industry is hitting some hurdles right now. But there's always hurdles in life, and we'll get through it. When stuff gets hard, you work hard and you keep a positive attitude, and it always works out. That's my mantra in life.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I would say integrity is a big one for me. I want my vendors to trust me, and trust that if they come to me with a proprietary idea or concept, they will then get that project if it wins. It's so easy for people to take other people's ideas and not give them the job, which is horrible. It's really important to me, the integrity of that people trust me, and that I can trust them with projects. The integrity is what I think is like a foundation for any relationship, is integrity.