Our People

Putting the consumer first is something we all do, how do you in your role?

Our business revolves around our customers. I let them know by my actions and communications that I put them first. I answer my phone or respond to their emails as soon as they reach out to me to show them how important they are to me. During my customer meetings, I always ask what is important to them and I make that a priority for me. I communicate to my customers that I am an advocate for them and will always do my best to present to my internal stakeholders what their most important initiatives are for their companies.

How would you describe the culture at Imperial?

The culture at Imperial is shaped by each individual who works here, and that is why I love what I do. The culture is top notch, and the people make the difference.  I feel that our executive leadership team at ITG Brands and Imperial Brands are aligned and the messages cascaded down to the field during webinars drive home the importance of collaborating, mentoring others, taking personal accountability in shaping our culture. During Black History Month, we had external speakers share their thoughts and insights and encouraged to think about what we can do as individuals to help our teams become more inclusive and engaged. I have taken that advice seriously and strive every day to ensure everyone I connect with feels valued and important by telling them something they are good at and always communicating how much I appreciate them and the work that they do. 

What would you say to someone thinking of joining ITG Brands and Imperial Brands as a Sales Representative?

If you enjoy taking personal accountability for your work and career development, love to build relationships with customers, strive to learn new things every day and stay positive when you’re faced with obstacles that you may not know how to overcome, enjoy meeting new people and networking with other departments, you will love working at Imperial.

Three words to describe working at Imperial?

Supportive, Inclusive, Collaborative 

Tell us a bit about your role.

I work with the EVP Category Director and all EVP Category leads, supporting on all financial aspects related to the EVP category.  This includes identifying opportunities and making commercial recommendations to ensure profitability for the category. I have ownership of the EVP category P&L and take the lead on all forecasting for future projects.

What does a typical day look like?

In my current role, no day is the same! With the EVP world being so dynamic, every day is full of new challenges. Especially now I work as part of a global team, interacting with all our markets, we are always experiencing changes in each country.  This was one of the main reasons which brought me back to Imperial as I am excited by the fast paced and everchanging landscape that EVP brings.

What are the highlights of your role?

I am lucky to have the chance to not only work with many different colleagues based in different locations, but also to be able to travel out to different markets to see how the work we do at a global level is implemented country by country.

Putting the consumer first is something we all do, how do you this in your role?

When working in EVP – everything we do is about the consumer! Especially when working on future innovations to ensure the product delivers what the consumers are asking for.

What does having a challenger mindset mean to you?

To me, the challenger mindset is a way to constantly improve and the drive to achieve more by challenging yourself and challenging others. This is something which is embedded in my day-to-day activities when working with all global stakeholders. Furthermore, throughout my career I have always taken on new challenges outside of my comfort zone.

Three words to describe working at Imperial?

Welcoming - Challenging - Connected 

You joined us in 2010. What has been your career path at Imperial since then?

I began my career at Imperial as a Retail Development Representative where I was able to take advantage of the development opportunities we have available, and was identified on a succession plan. This enabled me to get involved in projects which gave me a lot of experience, opening the path for me to become successful in securing an Area Business Manager (ABM) role in the UK. I’m currently working as an ABM across Lincolnshire and South Yorkshire.

What opportunities do you have to work with others in your role?

As an Area Business Manager, I have the opportunity to work with individuals in a variety of roles. It’s important that I have close relationships with other ABMs across the country – this allows us to have a support system in each other, enabling us to share best practices and successes.

I also have a close working relationship with the Trade Marketing team which enables me to influence future strategies and it gives them a closer insight into our customers and retailers. The sharing of this knowledge helps both areas succeed.  

Working closely with HR is also important to me, as it allows me to ensure the wellbeing of my team and to best deal with any challenges.

How do you ensure your team stays connected with one another in these field-based roles?

Having a field-based team often creates challenges in cultivating a true team culture. This team culture is really important to our success. To ensure I create this I have a weekly team catch-up online where everyone can input into the agenda. When possible we also have two in-person meetings each quarter. I encourage and empower the team to find solutions to their challenges, which drives them to reach out to other team members and members of the wider business.

As a Process Technologist, tell us about your role:

My job mainly includes helping support the Research and Design function at Nerudia, in particular the formulation department - making sure we have the capabilities to formulate on site and help scale up these designs. I also support on team and wider Imperial projects and any engineering changes they need to make. For example, helping to improve the consistency of one of our factories producing our products, and as a result reducing the wastage, so it’s really exciting. My background is in chemical engineering, which is what I studied at university, so this is just what I wanted, I love chemical engineering as it covers a lot of different areas and Imperial has really allowed me to do that.

What development opportunities have you been able to take advantage of so far at Imperial?

There are loads of opportunities, not just through the graduate programme, but on your own individual side as well. The grad programme lets me work in a team and connect with people that I normally wouldn’t in my day-to-day job. It’s been really good to be able to develop yourself not only in an academic sense but in a business sense as well.

In my role, I’ve also been given the opportunity to learn different software and I’ve been lucky enough to partake in some White Belt Lean training which is learning about how to make all of the aspects of the workplace, not just manufacturing and R&D, but also documentation, have as little waste as possible, and the most efficient way to do things. Which has been really interesting, and I’ve actually started bringing some of that into my day to day life.

Do you have the opportunity to work with different teams in Imperial, both locally and globally?

I’ve had a great opportunity to do this. I will be on calls with colleagues in America, people we’re contract working with in China, colleagues in the German offices for example. It’s been a really exciting opportunity. Just working with different people and different cultures gives you an idea of how to approach things differently, and how to work with a wide breadth of people.

How has your experience been at Imperial so far?

So far it’s been really great. From day one, I’ve had input and real responsibilities, I’ve been given a lot of freedom, which I love because it allows me to do all the problem solving I love and I have my own time to do it. Also, my opinion has been valued from day one. I think it’s amazing that I’ve been given so much responsibility and been respected so much that my opinions have always been asked of and taken into account. 

You’ve worked at Imperial since 2021. What attracted you to join?

It’s a huge global company, with some of the most recognised brands in the world. Also, the people, the people make what I do worthwhile, we have tremendous teams and team building, and we all work together.

Is there a typical day as a Regional Sales Manager?

There are no typical days! You’re always focused on coaching, and you’re always focused on your team and then from there you focus on your retailers and the consumer, but every day is different, every day is fun and challenging, but the one constant is coaching.

What are the highlights of your role?

I get to work with amazing people - my peers, my fellow RSM, it’s always good to have other people you can bounce ideas off, we work extremely closely, we have such great team unity and it’s good to have that support system. I have my own team – it’s great to help divisional sales managers grow and hit their professional and personal goals, and you get to see the sales reps develop. The highlights are definitely just being part of this great team and being able to develop others.

What are the challenges?

The main challenges that I’ve had is that there’s not enough hours in the day, you always have to prioritise and make sure that you’re tackling the key components and challenges that you have for that day. Also, being able to change strategy quickly. In this industry things change quickly, new products come out, pricing and taxing changes, new competitor activity – so you always have to have an open mind, be flexible and organised so that you’re able to adapt and change quickly.

Three words to describe working at Imperial?

Fun, rewarding and global

Can you give us a brief overview of your role?

I work in supply chain. Myself and my team organise and manage the supply from overseas into market and distribution of stock across the states and delivery into customer’s DC.

What is your experience at Imperial so far?

I joined Imperial Brands about 10 months ago and it has been a great journey. It’s focus on consumer as the key strategy as well as the focus on People are the key reasons for me to join the company. I’ve got chance to work with a great team, very knowledgeable people who gave me a lot of support and training. I really enjoy the friendly environment here, open door policy of senior management and can-do attitude and understanding to each other.

What do you enjoy about your role?

I get to work with different functions locally and globally; locally I need to work with Sales, Saleslink, Marketing, Demand Planning to ensure right stock at right place at the right time.

Putting the consumer first is something we all do, how do you this in your role?

In my role, customer service is the top priority. Ensuring the maximum on-shelf availability is our ultimate goal. Through the collaboration with other functions (Saleslink, accounts, sales, 3PLs), we have delivered amazing customer service result by ensuring stock is delivered to the customers on time in full.

How would you describe the culture at Imperial?

The culture at Imperial brands is vibrant , challenging, engaging and inclusive.