Paul Campbell is a 22-year PepsiCo veteran with experience working across all aspects of Supply Chain, including manufacturing, logistics, warehousing, customer-facing, and planning. Paul has worked in developing markets, leading the Supply Chain organization across Eastern Europe, and in developed markets, working in the UK Snacks business in several executive manufacturing roles. He has also led the Global Supply Chain for PepsiCo Global Concentrate Solutions (PGCS) and has experience in all of PepsiCo’s categories—Snacks, Beverage, Juice and Grains, and Dairy.
Listen to the full discussion here:
Connect with the Guest:
Paul Campbell: LinkedIn
Some of the highlights from the podcast:
- What shaped Paul to become a thought leader
- Keeping the team engaged and giving them a sense of purpose
- Direct-to-carton initiative
- Main areas of Supply Chain focus to take PepsiCo to the next level
- Company’s diversity inside PepsiCo
- Why asking the right questions is important in building a career
Show notes:
- [0:53] Tell us two or three inflection points in your career. What were some of those points when you look back and say, “Okay, this made a lot of difference to me”?
- [5:45] If I was to look back now, I do think they’ve shaped me to be a much more thoughtful leader and less one that believes that being a leader means everything, and to one that is prepared to sit back and think a little bit more, and give the team the opportunity to flourish and grow.
- [9:27] You mentioned that you listened to a client request, actually in the initiative, “direct-to-carton” and then you implemented it. So maybe tell us a little bit about that.
- [12:39] We look at the value chain now as something that we have to take control of our destiny and the planet’s destiny, and how we can impact the food system. This is one small pillar in that journey, to redefine our business to get to be a carbon-neutral business as we as we move through the next couple of decades.
- [13:38] How do you keep your teams engaged and able to execute even this idea, in particular, to get it done?
- [14:54] I think at the heart of it is you have to give people a sense of purpose in what they’re doing. You’ve got to tie the activity to an outcome that they can see has value for them and I don’t mean a financial value.
- [17:31] What are your main areas of focus, what do you still need to improve or take to the next level in PepsiCo?
- [17:55] I think we also are constantly battling as an organization with the challenge of giving people freedom and autonomy, with the benefits you get from scale and simplicity because that feels like a constraint.
- [21:14] Let’s say in the next three, or five years, up to your perspective, what is it in the realm of the supply chain that will still make us indispensable to an organization?
- [22:33] We need to be in the room a lot of time. And I think it allows us to see much more business and therefore I think playing that business process end-to-end role as you look at how technology might advance continues to be a really important thing that requires us to stay relevant.
- [25:16] Talk to us a little bit about the company’s diversity in PepsiCo.
- [25:32] It starts with simply having completely different perspectives, and bringing them to the table in a way that is open and transparent. But in order to do that, you have to be proactive, it’s not a directive, be more inclusive.
- [37:22] If you want to give one or two pieces of advice for the younger generation building are on the path of building their careers coming off university benches, what would that be?
- [37:39] Be insatiably curious, really ask questions, and try and understand why others would be and it goes a little bit hand in hand with trying and putting yourself in the shoes of your business colleagues.
Quotes from the Episode:
About the Host:
The host, Radu Palamariu is the co-author of “From Source to Sold – Stories of Leadership in Supply Chain”. He has been named one of the top 3 Global Supply Chain Influencers on LinkedIn and was featured in Forbes, Bloomberg, WEF, Bangkok Post, and MIT Supply Chain Talent magazine. Radu invites executives to share stories and perspectives around technology, logistics, e-commerce, supply chain, and manufacturing, and their views on how the future will look.
Alcott Global connects and upgrades the supply chain ecosystem by finding the right talent through executive search, developing talent through learning solutions, and meeting supply chain technology needs through a comprehensive crunch base marketplace.
The supply chain executive search has been our focus since the very beginning, offering recruitment services for top-tier supply chain roles at every level of the end-to-end supply chain: plan, source / procure, make, and deliver. Our consultants have years of experience in placing top talent, in North America, LATAM, Europe, the Middle East & Africa, and APAC, and besides speed, one of our biggest strengths is our network within the supply chain industry, and we capitalize on it to find the best solutions.
Through the years, we have grown as an organization and our offerings with it. One of our initiatives, the learning solutions- training and supply chain academy, is focused on transforming leadership- self-leadership, executive presence, influence capital, and business acumen. Through Supplify, we aim to match corporations with the top technology companies to solve their supply chain and logistics challenges with a focus on innovation and digital transformation.
We are in constant touch with the leaders in supply chain, inviting them to inspire the supply chain professionals in thought-provoking podcast episodes and events, and showcasing what is possible at the yearly Leaders in Supply Chain Awards.
Related Episodes:
#147: AI versus Soft Skills in the Era of Digitalization
