What an Account Executive at a Big Beverage Company Wishes They Had Known Before Entering the Beverage Industry
Working for a large beverage company involves navigating slow-moving processes, as Kathleen noted, "decisions do not get made super fast," particularly regarding significant initiatives and innovations. This requires patience, focusing on controllable aspects, and consistently providing feedback to influence change over time.
Patience, Persistence, Adaptability, Communication, Feedback
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Kathleen Walsh
Account Executive
National beverage company
Suffolk University, 2013
UCLA Anderson, MBA
Communications
Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG), Food, Beverages & Alcohol
Sales and Client Management
Took Out Loans, Worked 20+ Hours in School
Video Highlights
1. Decision-making processes in large corporations are slow and deliberate, requiring patience and adaptability.
2. Balancing multiple stakeholder needs (consumers, customers, company image) is crucial in the beverage industry.
3. Effective communication and feedback are vital for influencing change and improving processes within a large organization.
Transcript
What have you learned about this role that you wish someone had told you before you entered the industry?
Things move very slowly. Working for a big company, any big company, whether it's beverage or any type of CPG, their decisions are not made super fast when it comes to large company programs and ideas.
Even talking about beverage innovation, there's a lot of frustration. We don't have a solution at this point for every single person's need. We don't have the packaging that consumers and our contract customers are looking for.
The discussions being had are all about the image the company is putting out. They have to be mindful of if they take a position on one type of packaging or a sustainability initiative. What does that say about other packaging that we have, specifically plastic versus aluminum or glass?
So, nothing comes super fast. I think it's about having patience and not getting caught up in the things you can't control. It's really just doing the best with the tools you are given.
We have a lot of tools at our disposal. We're doing what we can, and then just continuing to share the feedback and share the issues we're experiencing. This includes feedback from people in the field and from our contract customers about what they're demanding from us. Eventually, things change, but it takes a long time.