LEARNED IN THE ART OF NEGOTIATION - VAL QUINN,

MD of Coca Cola Ireland

WORDS: NESSA O’MAHONY

Val Quinn has crammed an impressive amount of professional experience into her career. A Managing Director at only 40 (she was appointed MD of Coca Cola Ireland in 2007, having joined the company as retail marketing director in 2004), she has worked for some of the world’s leading consumer brands since she left UCD with

a first class MBS in 1990.

Quinn believes that the MBS gave her an invaluable grounding in marketing, equipping her with skills such as strategic thinking and negotiation. “In the Masters they were expecting you to read around a subject and there was no real right or wrong, once you could debate

it and back it up with evidence.”

After the MBS, Quinn was selected to participate in the graduate programme at UK conglomerate Rank Hovis McDougall (RHM). The recruitment was an intensely competitive one, Quinn recalls, something of a cross between Big Brother and The Apprentice. “They had 2,000 applicants from England and Ireland and they hired 22 of us after two and a half days of assessment. We went through aptitude tests, presentations, group work, individual work, negotiations. The next day they called you in and told you whether you had a job or not.”

Quinn’s first job was in sales, representing the Sharwoods Brand among some of the toughest customers out there, the Indian and Chinese restaurant and shop community in the East End of London. “I was going to outlets, taking orders, merchandising, visiting cash and carries and Tesco stores. Literally taking orders and stacking shelves. College sets an expectation for people that they are the leaders of the future, next thing you find yourself stacking a shelf!”

But Quinn believes the experience gained in that first job provided her with invaluable lessons for her entire career. “I quite enjoyed it, I learned a lot. The East End was tough but at the same time character-building. The experience taught me that these people can try to be intimidating but it is a front because afterwards when you get to know them you realise they respect you for standing your ground.”

Having worked in other areas of RHM, Quinn moved to CPC, (now part of Unilever) where she worked on brands such as Bovril, Marmite and Ambrosia. Once again, the experience gave Quinn the opportunity to hone her skills. “There were good budgets when I worked on Bovril and Marmite. We had a budget of £7 million which in 1992 was a lot of money. I was making adverts and it was great fun; I also did a lot of research so that branded me in the full marketing mix, if you like.”

Read more about Val Quinn in the October| November 2008 issue of WMB, on newsstands now.