The Spearhead Group, a Yardley, PA-based global packaging and physical brand enhancement company, recently announced the start of its global expansion process that will be led by four women in the United States, Mexico, Italy, and India.

Noted as a Certified Women-Owned Business and a model for independent startups and their owners, Spearhead USA is led by co-founder and CEO Heather Fritzsche; Patricia Burguete, owner and founder of Spearhead Mexico; Giovanna Pinna, owner and founder of Spearhead Italy; and Pooja Sikand, owner and founder of Spearhead India.

Fritzsche stated:

I am committed to promoting diverse leadership opportunities and creating equity that gives back.

Women set the tone

Standing out for having built an all-women ownership team who share a commitment to promoting core values of innovation, sustainability, diversity, equity and inclusion, Spearhead Group continues to strengthen its fresh and inspiring approach to the consumer packaging industry.

Spearhead Group USA has already set a valuable precedent through intentional supply chain management, and nearly 60% of the company's purchases in 2022 benefited other women-owned businesses.

“Our new team shares a powerful vision to deliver truly innovative packaging solutions while reinforcing a positive company culture defined by sustainability at all levels,” added Fritzsche.

Get to know the leaders

Founded in 2018, Spearhead's international expansion is the product of an injection of $40 million in revenue that the ownership group wants to push globally.

These are their trajectories:

- Heather Fritzsche — CEO and co-founder of Spearhead USA

With more than 20 years of global packaging expertise and the CEO and co-founder of The Spearhead Group USA, Heather Fritzsche is a highly valued business partner for some of the world’s foremost beverage and CPG brands. Fritzsche is a recipient of the prestigious 2022 Trusted Adviser Award for outstanding mentorship from WBENC-East, the leading community for women business owners and entrepreneurs. Fritzsche was also named a 2020 Tory Burch Foundation Fellow for best business practices and is a co-founder of Spearhead Project Earth, a new charitable foundation dedicated to eliminating single-use plastics in international waterways.

- Patricia Burguete — Owner and founder of Spearhead Mexico and head of Global Sustainability Strategies

Patricia Burguete’s lifelong appreciation for artisan craft and design led her to a career in architecture, design, and packaging. As Spearhead’s Head of Sustainability based in Mexico City, she has used her experience in corporate design to develop a network of manufacturing and technology partnerships throughout the country and beyond. In her role as Owner & Founder of Spearhead Mexico, Burguete hopes to promote the work of Mexico around the world and to ensure everyone knows the phrase “well made in Mexico.” Burguete is also the Head of Sustainability at Spearhead Project Earth, and works with the global team to support the integration of the best environmentally-friendly practices at every level of corporate life from production to sourcing, freight and charitable giving.

- Giovanna Pinna — Owner and founder of Spearhead Italy

A graduate of the University of Turin in economics and business, Giovanna Pinna has more than two decades of experience in the world of advertising, communications, branding and packaging for international clients. She worked closely with the Istituto Europeo di Design (IED) in Turin to help cultivate the next generation of creative design talent and manages all aspects of Spearhead’s annual Physical Brand Enhancement (PBE) Awards to identify emerging talent and share cutting-edge ideas in the packaging industry. As owner and founder of Spearhead Italy, Pinna applies her expertise to offer simplified, sustainable solutions to European and global clients shaped by the defining influence of Italian design.

- Pooja Sikand — Owner and founder of Spearhead India

Based in New Delhi, Pooja Sikand is an operations and production design expert with more than 20 years of experience in delivering solutions for global brands, both within the Indian market and the larger Asia-Pacific region. Her operational acumen, combined with strong skills throughout the supply chain, logistics and finance, make her an invaluable asset to Spearhead’s leadership team. In her new role as owner and founder of Spearhead India, Sikand will lead product design, development and supply chain management for Spearhead in the Asia-Pacific region.

“Our collective business network aims to create boundless opportunities for mentorship and growth potential. We are continually learning from each other and leveraging years of experience to develop client solutions that span the world,” said Fritzsche.