Hear from Group Strategy Senior Manager on her career in finance at Diageo

1. Tell us about your career at Diageo so far 

I joined Diageo in August 2019 after 10 years across strategy and operations consulting roles, including working on my own food product. I knew I was passionate about consumer goods (particularly food and beverages) so when the opportunity to work in Diageo’s Group Strategy team came up, I applied hoping I would gain a cross-functional grounding in how the business and industry operates. That has certainly been the case, and I’ve also developed a deeper understanding of Diageo’s key categories, markets and capabilities based on the projects I’ve worked on.

2. What do you enjoy most about your role? 

As the Strategy team we set the course for one of the leading CPG (Consumer Packaged Goods) businesses in the world. That’s incredibly exciting. Our work helps our Board and Executive team make the best decisions for Diageo’s future, and it’s rewarding to see the impact of that in our performance. From a day-to-day perspective, there is a lot of variety that keeps things interesting. We could be asking blue-sky corporate strategy questions like how wellness trends could impact alcohol consumption or exploring more focused questions like which categories we should participate in to accelerate growth in key markets. 

4. Why work in Finance at Diageo? 

One of the things I appreciate about Diageo is the balanced and collaborative approach we take across the business; we recognise that with over 200 brands in 180 countries, we need true and consistent partnership across functions to achieve our performance ambition. Whatever part of Finance you are in, you will be using your financial perspective to help shape and drive cross-functional performance outcomes – whether that’s financial reporting to drive investment decision-making or forecasting to help us plan for future growth. It’s really rewarding to have the opportunity to partner with global teams on such incredible brands and feel part of their growth story. 

In Finance, you get to look under the hood of how the business runs and gain a real understanding of the levers that impact our performance and drive decision-making. At Diageo, you combine this with amazing opportunities to work with best-in-class global finance teams, where everyone is encouraged to learn and grow. You are always fully supported in career planning and there are lots of resources available for L&D – people always encourage and support on the job learning, even if that takes you beyond your role’s remit. 

5. What capabilities help you thrive in this team? 

As strategists we ask big questions that stretch across brands, geographies, price tiers, business units and functions. Our job is to challenge accepted truths and dig for insights, staying alert to things that can change our landscape, spotting opportunities to act and joining dots across the business. We need act with agility and without bias, partnering across all functions to drive outcomes at pace. To succeed, we need to be curious and collaborative. 

6. How does our culture help you be successful in your role? 

The pandemic showed businesses a lot about what their true culture is. I think that Diageo learned that our people are performance-driven, agile and resilient – and truly believe in our purpose of celebrating life, every day, everywhere. That is a powerful combination that unlocks great results but also great enjoyment from a day-to-day perspective.

7. Any career advice for someone looking to join Finance at Diageo? 

Apply! Diageo is a fantastic company to work for. Once you’re in the business, there are plenty of opportunities to learn and grow, so don’t feel you need to have everything mapped out. One of my biggest learnings has been that even roles with the same title can vary greatly day-to-day depending on the market/category/function focus. I’d spend time trying to understand the dynamics of our industry and how Diageo is structured to get a sense of the broader context of any role you are interested in.

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