Episode Description
In this week’s episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Sue Garfitt, the CEO of Alpro.
Having known Sue for over 10 years, I’ve experienced first-hand her incredible work ethic, her energy and her dogged determination to succeed. Sue’s incredible career in the industry spans over 25 years – having worked with the likes of Britvic Soft Drinks, Burton’s Foods and MapleLeaf Foods to name just a few. She joined Alpro as CEO in 2014 with a clear vision – to change the way the world eats for the better by creating delicious, naturally healthy plant-based foods, for the maximum wellbeing of everyone and with the utmost respect for the planet.
A big supporter of inclusive diversity: Sue champions bringing different people together in a team to collaborate and achieve a singular vision.
In this insightful episode Sue and I discuss her stellar career, including her remarkable 7 years at Alpro, leading a purposeful business to feed our future with plants. We discuss the impact that Covid had on Sue and her team, as well as on the wider business, and the changes implemented to ensure minimal disruption to the production while also prioritising the team’s safety and wellbeing.
Sue gives us some extremely valuable insight into what good leadership looks like. She tells us that while management is about making sure you do things right, leadership is about doing the right things – which takes both courage and determination. She expands on how good leaders must also find a way to prioritise workflow, using her own example of managing her time in a “fluid” way.
Join us as we discuss Sue’s “why”, the key traits that have helped her throughout her career journey and the importance of getting a diverse team on board, providing a clear roadmap and surrounding yourself with the right people that buy into the journey and vision.
Here are some key topics we discussed through the episode:
06:30 Key traits and attributes that have contributed to Sue’s success
11:00 Sue’s Journey with Alpro
18:22 The Impact of Covid on Business and People
23:20 Good Leadership and Setting Clear Vision
25:38 Active Listening and the Benefits of Increased Engagement
28:03 The Importance of Recruiting the Right People
30:45 Prioritising Workflow to Get The Best Return
25:46 Career Advice and The Importance of Being Happy
39:20 Tips and Career Advice
Enjoy!
As ever, if you’d like to get in touch you can reach me at Jonathan.ohagan@leaderexecutivesearch.com