Classified as General Business ‘My experience as a Kerry Graduate’ Sean Ging Global Senior Marketing Executive – Taste

Sometimes, it can be difficult to predict how things will turn out.

That’s the feeling I had when I was starting my role as a Kerry Group graduate. I was entering the unknown, not sure what I would be doing on a day-to-day basis nor, if it was going to be a place I stayed for a few months or indefinitely. And yet, here I am today, three years after starting, being asked to write a paragraph or two for the graduates hoping to join Kerry in the future.

In a snapshot, throughout the two-year graduate program, to say a lot happened might be an understatement! Things moved, evolved and changed again, I visited countries I had not seen before, learned the science behind flavours, changed roles, moved to live in a city that was on the other side of the world, and of course, developed skills that I will be able to take with me throughout my career.

If you’re curious to know, I’m a global product marketer and now lead the marketing for our cocoa & chocolate taste solutions & our alcohol taste solutions.

As a big fan of cocoa & chocolate products (who isn’t?), it felt like the perfect match when I got the news that this was going to be my next role evolution during my final year on the graduate program. At the beginning, like in any new role, there was a lot I needed to wrap my head around, but as always, it was never difficult to find people who were willing to help or teach me something new about the technologies we had at our disposal.

As you may or may not know, cocoa raw material prices have doubled & tripled in the last few years due to weaker crops seasons. With my role, I got to work firsthand with innovation, creation and commercial teams from around the world to bring innovative solutions to market. Not to sound dramatic, but these new solutions meant that you & other chocolate enthusiasts around the world did not have to compromise or lose the chocolate taste of some of your favourite products!

While I learnt so much in just a few months, what I was proud of is that we were bringing new solutions to market that well represented Kerry’s vision / mission to create a world of Sustainable Nutrition. We were making sure that not only were we bringing cost effective solutions to our customers but, also delivering CO2 emission reductions of up to 48% vs traditional solutions.

The projects that I’ve worked on and opportunities that I’ve been granted at Kerry give me a real sense of impact and purpose in my role that I’m not so sure I’d have found elsewhere. So, if that’s what you’re looking for, look no further!