Celebrating influential women across the drinks industry
Ali Johnstone
Regional Wholesale Account Manager, Molson Coors
&
Judith Anderson
Sales Performance Manager, Molson Coors
How is diversity & inclusion a key foundation at your own organisation?
Ali: “As a business Molson Coors Beverage Company is on a journey to be a workplace where everyone feels like they belong. When we all feel like we belong, better things happen, for us personally, for our teams and for our business.
“We have lots of support available to support our people via our Employee Assistance Programme, Wellbeing Apps and the Mental Health Pathway+ scheme (with over 100 people now Mental Health Trained).
“Just this week we launched our Equal Parental Leave born from our gender ERG group.”
Judith: “Molson Coors has a strong people first value and really lives this culture, with our DEI Council and Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) giving an inclusive voice for all and consistently developing this culture to ensure it embeds to become ‘just what we do’.”
Do you feel a positive culture being in place helps you cement business relationships?
Ali: “Absolutely, when you are engaged and happy working in a great culture, this shines through in every conversation you have. Our team organise Wellness days and socials to engage everyone and it’s an open invite to people living in Scotland, but not part of our Scotland Team.”
Judith: “Inclusivity is rightly becoming an expectation across all business. Having a positive culture which allows you to demonstrate diversity and inclusion allows for stronger and more trusting business relationships that last.”
Tell us about your own success story, positive experiences etc?
Ali: “I joined Molson Coors 12 years ago, I’ve worked as part of the Scotland Team predominately, but also on projects alongside our team in Burton and Ireland, and for various managers.
“I’ve been called out as being a positive and engaging person to work with (from customers and colleagues alike). I believe a lot of this is culture driven, working with great brands and having positive leaders in our business driving our business forward.
“I’m lucky to have been selected as a Wellbeing Ally which has enabled me to be involved in cascading Wellness programmes and being on the end of the phone as a Mental Health First Aider. Last year our UK Wellness team challenged ourselves to tackle the 3 Peaks in 24 hours and our Scottish Team smashed Ben Nevis for The Ben Charity.”
Judith: “Having come from outwith the Licensed trade until just over a year ago, the perception was that it was a heavily male dominated industry, however joining Molson Coors in Jan 2023, I found this to be something that is definitely changing. Having come from a DEI award winning company I can truly say I feel just as able to be myself if not more so and I have found many opportunities to support others in understanding the benefits of inclusion.”
What opportunities are there for career evolution within your company?
Ali: “As we are a global business there are lots of opportunities, with the chance to work from home and travel as much as you want to (dependent on your role). I’ve personally had lots of exciting roles since joining Molson Coors, from National Account Executive looking after the Grocers, to leading our fabulous team as Sales Manager, I’m now managing the relationships with our Scottish Wholesalers including Belhaven.
“To succeed you do need to be engaged and embrace change. There is lots of talent here and actively work on your PDP. We have also taken on apprentices and graduates which is bringing in huge young talent into our business for the future across supply chain, sales and marketing.”
Judith: “Molson Coors supports us to learn every day and there are many opportunities to do this both in role and also through a career journey. I have had involvement in shaping my role and feel listened to and encouraged to widen my network which supports my development and opens up future opportunities.”
What has your experience been like as a woman working in your field?
Ali: “When I first joined Molson Coors 12 years ago, I would say it was a very different place. I look at my customers now, previous employers (Coca Cola & Buzzworks) who all have a much more diverse workforce and all proudly communicate this in the trade.”
Judith: “Whilst still working in a sales environment my field is more process and data driven which has not traditionally been seen as a female centric field, however from experience I have only had support and encouragement to develop myself and valued for being able to bring a different perspective to a situation.”
What challenges have you overcome in the past in this regard?
Ali: “None, I’m honest and hard working – there isn’t a conversation that can’t be had in my role.”
Judith: “Working in male dominated roles in the past, challenges I have faced have been in relation to unconscious bias where I was at a disadvantage being female as I was not included in work related conversations that happened in a setting that I was not invited to e.g. on the golf course or over a pint in the pub after work.
“I could have looked to push myself into being ‘one of the lads, take up golf or try to invite myself into conversations, however this would not have been truly authentic and so I started to raise awareness when this happened. I highlighted where I did not get the useful nuggets of information and explained the impact to male peers or managers which helped understanding and building an inclusive environment for other women as well as myself.”
What experiences have your female clients had (positive or negative) within the drinks industry, if this is something you can share with us?
Judith: “Being so new to the drinks industry I don’t have much experience to draw on with this, however I believe that the perception of the industry is changing, and I have met many successful and well-respected females in the last year who are an inspiration to the future of women in the licensed trade.“
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