Share Your Work Experience Form
Name: Adil Choudhry
Organization: Henkel KGaA, (Global HQ, Düsseldorf, Germany) www.henkel.com
Designation: Corporate Vice President, International Marketing
Work Experience (in years): 13
Industry: FMCG
Expertise:
Q. What to expect at the entrant level? (Ups and downs during the early years)
Expectations start with the individual, NOT the organization. It is critical that the entrant knows WHY he is doing what he is (i.e. choice of industry, company, location, etc), and what his mid term goal is (career development/learning, money, international career, geographic stability, etc).
This needs to be matched with what makes the individual ‘tick’ (as an example, I got my adrenalin rush from the market share numbers). If one cant identify what makes one ‘love’ ones work, then it’s a sign that one is in the wrong job/industry/company.
Unless the above two are reconciled from a very early stage, the first job(s) of any individual can be an exercise in frustration.
Q. Explain the Career progress that is typical to this field? (Growth pattern/ promotion chances/ overseas placements)
Eventually, a marketer would need to make a call on whether he aspires to be a specialist (i.e. marketing only) or move towards General Management. If it is the former, then the career path would involve 2-3 moves locally within different brands before leading a category. If working in an MNC, one may aspire for an international job rotation (staying within the same function).
To target a General Management role, one should seek assignments also within the (local) Sales departments, as increasingly (for MNC’s) Marketing tasks become centralized, while Sales remains a core competence of local GM’s.
Q. What pre requisite courses need to taken to help students to enter this career path? (Courses/ certifications that help in this field)
A good degree from a reputable Business School is a door opener for your first job. After that, it is only your performance ‘on the job’ that matters.
As a marketer, courses that help develop your ‘soft-skills’ may be particularly useful, and may end up being the differentiator between you and your peers.
That said, it is a myth that a marketer does not need Financial competence (read ‘Finance’ courses) to succeed. While it is true that your financial wizardry will not help one become that best marketer in the world, it is also true that without a good grasp of the basics, one will not even succeed as a starting Assistant Brand Manager.
Q. Do employers have a preference for certain individuals? (CGPA or a specialized Bachelors or masters requirement)
Not necessarily. Most MNC’s now have their own entrance evaluations (often including the validation of your basic financial abilities), followed up by an extensive personality evaluation. For a marketer, your ability to ‘get things done’, and visibility demonstrating this, will be decisive.
Q. Who are the industry leaders and trend setters in this field? (Companies that need to be looked out for)
P&G (where I started my career) remains a pioneer within the FMCG world, while Unilever is a rejuvenated player under its new leadership. Amongst the mid-size companies Reckitt has lost some of its steam since Bart’s retirement, while Henkel (not present in Pakistan) has beaten all matrices over the last 4 years. An applicant needs to decide whether he aspires to work for a ‘Bigger is Better’ company, versus medium sized companies that may not carry the same muscle, but allow much more individual freedom and room for creativity.
Q. Any advise that you can offer to current students?
Referring back to my first point, know why you do what you do. Don’t let the aspirations of your parents/society/friends drive your career ambitions, and neither your course choices in business schools. If you know what you want, and why you want it, your chances of getting it are significantly higher, because ‘you’ are providing the fuel and ambition for it (and not dependent on motivation from others). As a reference, I bucked conventional wisdom during my IBA years and was a 7-1 Marketing Major, despite a whole range of (well meaning) naysayers (friends, Professors included).
