Meet Steven from China

Friday, September 17, 2021

After graduating university, Steven began his search for a workplace to kickstart his marketing career. “As a marketeer, you need to balance strategic thinking, creativity and execution to make your vision come to life – it’s this mix that makes marketing the perfect match for me”. When offered to join Mondelēz International’s Management Trainee Program in China, Steven knew he found the place he’d been looking for. A FMCG company with a rich portfolio, full of iconic global and local brands, loved by consumers all over the world. “When joining Mondelēz International in 2013 I knew I found the right place for me. The trainee program gave me a chance to accelerate my career quickly while getting the support I needed from my manager”.

To say that Steven's career has skyrocketed would be an understatement. During his eight years with the company, Steven’s held six roles within the Marketing function. One of the first was as an ABM for the local brand Pacific. A role focused on fundamental promotion and packaging design rather than creative brand development and expansion. “This was a very important period in my career as I got the chance to build the business acumen and foundational capability needed to help me get ready for my next career move”.

A true learning highlight in Steven’s career came in 2017 as he took lead for a big product and packaging renovation for the power brand Oreo on the Chinese market. A project with opportunity for growth, but also challenges and risks along the way. “After renovation launch, Oreo sales didn’t grow on plan and even started to decline. My team and I were put in charge to turn the trend around. We analyzed the root cause and then focus on speed and agility to bring our new plan to life. We got things that usually take two months to happen in two weeks”.

The relaunch received great feedback from the market and already within three months, the team could see a turnaround. Steven attributes the success of the project to true teamwork and unwavering trust from both his manager and senior leadership. “It helped me build confidence to always do what’s right, prepare for different scenarios and be agile in everything I do”.

Steven’s top tip for others who want to accelerate their career is to keep learning and growing. “To lead in a fast-moving market that constantly evolve and demands our best, we need to Grow Every Day. I leverage our internal learning resources, programs and events such as ‘Growing Here Weeks’ but I also learn from external sources such as the media, marketing trends and different industries”.

Mondelēz International is a place where you can Grow Every Day and accelerate your career!