From studying International Business to working with National Account
I studied International Business at the University of Brighton with a sandwich year abroad in Amsterdam. After University I came back to the big smoke in search of a job. My first post University gig was an internship for a telecoms firms. After this ended I embarked on my CCEP career as a Sales Representative looking after North West London. This role was very mixed and I would meet with the convenience, food to go and licenced customers with the aim of growing our range, installing equipment and driving sales for end outlet.
After learning all the internal processes and ways of working I moved into a Grocery Account Executive role. This role focused on key central London grocery stores. The aim was to increase volume and revenue across our whole portfolio.
My next career move was into the licensed area. As an On-Premise Professional, I looked after a mixture of licensed accounts ranging from an English pub to top-end restaurants, with everything in between.
Next, I had the amazing opportunity to work on the Beverages For Tomorrow project. This role was at the heart of Coca-Cola's ambitions to be a Total Beverage Company. The focus was on new, innovative brands such as AdeZ and Honest and growing distribution in high equity accounts.
After the Beverages For Tomorrow project, I moved to National & Key Accounts at Coca-Cola. My remit here was to win new business withing the Casual Dining, HoReCa and Fast Food sectors.
During Covid an opportunity came up for me to start studying again so I went back to University, part-time and I'm currently halfway through an MBA program.
Most recently I have moved to picking up a portfolio of customers as a National Account Manager within the Casual Dining business unit.
National Account Manager within Casual Dining business unit
In this position I look after a number of nationally spread hotels. The role includes managing the day-to-day requests that may come from the operations or buying team. I also manage the contractual obligations between CCEP and customers. There is forecasting and P&L ownership for each account.
A big part of the role is to grow our brand presence within the outlet and activate the agreed SKUs.
Im also responsible for seeking out new ways of working and creating a partnership approach between us and the customers.
Owning the end-to-end account management process.
From agreeing on the range to making sure we feature on the menu I'm responsible for the main bulk of the contact the customer will have with CCEP. This is a lot of responsibilities but its really motivating to see what I can achieve.
Have a plan but be flexible
Its important to have a career plan, break it down into chunks e.g. next 12 months, 2-5 years then 5 years plus. Make the right people aware of this plan. After all how can the leadership team support you if they dont know your aspirations? Then its important to understand what skills are needed to make the next move. Breadth moves are very usefully as it expands your overall knowledge which ultimately helps with career development.
With all this in mind its also important to be flexible and adaptable. Seek out advice from senior peers who would have probably been in a similar situation in the past.
Being part of the LGBTQ+ network
In 2018 Coca Cola and several employees created the LGBT+ Friends network. This is the first time Coca Cola Europacific Partners has had such a network. The aim was clear, to bring Diversity and Inclusion into everyday conversations and demonstrate that having a diverse and inclusive workplace was good for every, from employees, to customers and consumers because ultimately, employees who are happy and supported in their roles deliver better results.
Being part of this group is definitely my most proudest achievement as it impacts people directly and will have lasting implications for future employees.
