IS BEER STILL "A MAN'S WORLD"? FOUR FEMALE HEINEKEN GENERAL MANAGERS IN FOUR
DIFFERENT MARKETS, DISCUSS THEIR VIEW OF THE COMPANY AND THE INDUSTRY
World of Heineken 37 Winter 2007/2008
Ahead of the game
The four markets you are in couldn't be more distinct
from each other - what is Heineken's success formula
in your market?
Maggie Timoney (Canada): For us I'd say our main success formula
has been the cohesive efforts of both Heineken Canada and our
partner Molson Coors. We have an open, honest and transparent
relationship and what we have aimed to do in Canada is to work
as one team on our brand. Both are committed to getting the job
done. It's great to know that we together with our partner here are
committed to rowing the boat in the same direction.
Zuzana Zeleznikova (Lebanon): Brasserie Almaza has a strong basis
in Lebanon that has been built over years. Despite the difficult
environment we are very positive for the future. The company has a
strong asset - its loyal and dedicated employees. Lebanese people
are known by their drive and entrepreneurship. In addition to it our
consumers are truly proud of their brand, Almaza. So I'd say that we
have everything to succeed.
Monique Peters(Croatia): Croatia is a growth market. Consumers
here are open to international innovations but they are also proud
of their history. So we combine the best of both worlds with our
main brands in the portfolio, Heineken and Karlovacko. Pride and
innovation are very important for building a successful organisation
as well as getting young local managers in the driving seat and
developing them further.
Door Plantenga (Rwanda): Heineken has been in Rwanda for almost
50 years. The company is a real beacon in Rwandan society. To put
things in perspective: our local subsidiary Bralirwa contributes up to
15 per cent of the domestic revenues to the government. We strive
to be (and are) the role model company in Rwanda in many aspects:
in quality, innovation, the training and education of our employees,
CSR projects and so on. In my view this is our success formula:
although we're a sole supplier, we behave very competitively and
without arrogance.
What have been your greatest challenges and how did
you overcome these?
Timoney: My biggest challenge throughout my career at Heineken
has been to make sales and distribution sexy in a marketing driven
company. The ideas aspect of marketing in the company has always
attracted a lot of attention, while the execution part of getting the
product out there is often seen as a "dirty job". In order to give
our brands the best that they deserve, we need a company that is
effective and efficient in both disciplines.
Zeleznikova: Getting into marketing, because I was passionate
about sales. But the real challenge came after a period of expansion
in Slovakia, when we had four breweries and then suddenly had to
face a dramatic beer market decline. Every day was a challenge.
We had to do a deep restructuring of the company and cut back to
one brewery while keeping the team positive and enthusiastic, all
this in a very short period of time. It's a great feeling to see that this
difficult task paid off and that Heineken Slovensko has a strong basis
to develop further. Having the passion, the desire to succeed and
the right team turned the challenge into an opportunity to win.
Peters: My challenges are to be patient and to listen to the
perspectives of other people, which are often valuable. One of
my management team members is 'coaching me' on this and I'm
making progress now. Another challenge for me is combining my
personal career and my private life, which I cherish very much as
well. How did I overcome this? I married a super guy and have great
children too!
Plantenga: A girlfriend of mine once successfully climbed Mount
Everest. She said that you need to be in good mental and physical
condition at the start. You go from the base camp to camps four,
three, two and one and finally you reach the top if you have a bit
of luck with the weather. To me, there are similarities here with our
business. You need to be in a good starting position, and then you
need to maintain the ability to learn. That's what got me where I am
today. In the end it's your results that do the convincing.
Each of you has a strong commercial background
- are women better salespersons?
Plantenga: The question is too general. But in my view women do
have a stronger capacity for empathy with others, especially with
regard to what they like or need.
Timoney: I agree. My experienceisthat in the beer industry, customers
are typically used to seeing men in sales roles. But as a woman in
the beer business you're already ahead of the game, because you're
different and therefore you have a unique advantage. It's a proven
fact that women are better at building relationships quickly, so as a
woman in this discipline I find you can get a lot of things done more
quickly. Therefore, I wouldn't say that women are better but that
providing a different perspective can often be beneficial.
30
