FMCG specialists offer insider tips
Experienced MBA participants from FMCG backgrounds shared their insights and offered tips to their fellow classmates in the first in a series of student roundtable events organized for the careerSMART programme.
The EDHEC Global MBA program has participants from over 30 nationalities, all coming from from diverse professional backgrounds and with a vast range of experience. To enable students to benefit from each other’s professional experience, the corporate relations team has initiated a series of roundtable conferences in which the panel of speakers is from among the class participants.
The first ever student roundtable at EDHEC was under the theme Consumer Goods with Ms. Sandra Richez - Head of Career Services and Corporate Relations serving as moderator.
Speakers were:
• Ms. Thabata Dias, Brasil/Germany
former Brand Manager at Samsung, L'Oreal and Johnson & Johnson
• Mr. Jinghua Chen, China
former Strategic Buyer and Retail Supplier at Oxylane
• Mr. Dimitrios Sofras, Greece
former Customer Manager at L'Oreal
• Ms. Paula Ordonez, Colombia
former Corporate Finance Chief at Belcorp
The discussion helped students gain valuable insights into the FMCG industry. The speakers shared their past experience and valuable tips on joining and building a strong career the industry. Questions were raised on a typical day at work, their views on growth, future prospects and key skills required to be successful in a career in the FMCG segment. While Ms. Dias quoted that innovation and inquisitiveness was important, Mr. Sofras emphasised the importance of being motivated and maintaining high energy. Ms. Ordonez and Mr. J Chen shared the importance of working quickly as the FMCG segment faced a continuously changing market.
The discussion was immensely helpful to all aspiring MBA candidates keen on building their careers in the FMCG sector. Ms. Sudeshna Saha, MBA candidate and participant at the roundtable event, said “The discussion helped me gain a new perspective on the FMCG industry. I am excited about the upcoming panel discussions that will help me learn in depth about the various industries.”
