Ivy Xu is an inspirational and dynamic Senior Key Accounts Manager for Beam Suntory and works as part of Beam Suntory’s Global Travel Retail business unit (GTR). She leads the China and South Korea markets.
Ivy’s role is to specifically drive commercial outcomes to profitability level and showcase world class brand presences towards the key travelling nationalities.
Ivy’s ambition is to make Beam Suntory the preferred partner for her customers and to develop a highly efficient, capable, and motivated team. For Ivy, achieving this ambition requires good planning as well as prioritization of work and team resources, particularly when faced with what she describes as the modern challenge of time and bandwidth constraint.
Key strengths include being open-minded and transparent
There are many key strengths and abilities that Ivy regularly needs to call upon and demonstrate within her role at Beam Suntory. Firstly, she needs to unite people in towards mutual and challenging goals. She also needs to keep an open mind to find new ways or leverage resources to overcome barriers. Ivy is also required to encourage and demonstrate fairness and transparency, while remaining fact-based and aware of all perspectives.
Ivy describes one of her biggest career achievements to date at Beam Suntory as ensuring growth despite the challenges of COVID19. “I had led the business and team well in 2020 which was severely affected by the pandemic. In the year where delivery has been compromised across the business, I have managed to deliver as per the plan and in many cases exceeded the targets,” explains Ivy. “Our relationship with key customers were at highest levels and team efforts were well appreciated by the customers. Under my leadership, we have grown faster than the category in China and Korea which are two big focus markets for the organization.”
Considerable support for career growth
Ivy’s career is thriving at Beam Suntory and she appreciates the supportive nature of the company.
When asked about the key strengths of Beam Suntory as a company to work for Ivy responds by saying that there is considerable support to “grow for good and grow in the right way.” She also cites the company’s great determination to create a diverse and inclusive environment for employees and acknowledges the company’s considerable company benefits.
In 2020 Ivy was also selected to participate in the inaugural Women in Leadership Development programme for the International region supporting her leadership development and growth. The program was designed to support the company's female talent in building interpersonal skills and leadership capabilities; to provide a chance to network with peers and senior leaders; and to learn from one another in order to grow a career and to succeed as emerging leaders at Beam Suntory.
“People are the number one asset for a company to grow. By providing a safe environment for people with diversified backgrounds to equally contribute and grow can improve overall employee experiences and enable a highly efficient team result,” comments Ivy.
Advice for women looking to join Beam Suntory
When asked about her key advice for women looking to join Beam Suntory, “Be confident and be prepared to voice your ideas and to pursue all opportunities,” says Ivy. "It’s OK to be vulnerable as it demonstrates the safe environment people will experience. Also, it’s OK to not drink – we are a company that promotes responsible drinking. A lot of market misconceptions come from needing to drink to join the industry/company but that however is not true."
Enjoying outside interests
Outside of her busy role, Ivy enjoys many recreational activities and interests like hiking, boxing, ping pong, family time and shopping.
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