HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY BUILD INTERNATIONAL CAREER?
Dimitar Andonov is working at The Coca-Cola Company as Country Franchise Manager responsible for the markets of Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia & Kosovo. He’s been with The Coca-Cola Company for 16 years already, working in different countries by covering different roles and he is currently based in Belgrade. We had the pleasure to talk to Dimitar about his background, his job at Coca-Cola and his example of building a successful international career in one of the most successful companies in the world.
Could you tell us more about your up-bringing?
I was born and raised in Skopje by my father who is a mechanical engineer and my mother teacher, so you can say I was a product of art & science. I was lucky to inherit the curiosity and eternal quest for learning from my mom and enjoyment to solve complex problems and drive for results from my dad. I was equally lucky to be able to spend most of my education in multicultural diverse environments from having a high school campus that carried the names of two national heros (Nikola Karev & Zef Ljus Marku), to spending my University years in one of the most vibrant and culturally diverse cities in the US, New Orleans. Being brought in such environments from early on you learn to celebrate differences, recognize the power of inclusiveness and recognize the importance of trust.
How did you get to The Coca-Cola Company and how has your career progressed over time?
Once I got my university bachelor degree in Marketing in the USA, I came home for summer holidays without intention to move back in Skopje. During my holidays, my parents saw an ad for a Brand Manager position at the newly established Coca-Cola Company office in Skopje and they suggested I take a chance at it. As you can imagine for a marketing graduate this was a dream come true. Full of enthusiasm & determination I applied and got the job and was fortunate to have one of the most successful managers in Coke system as my first boss. After a year and a half I was promoted and offered an opportunity to join our Bulgarian office where I was assigned to lead Coca-Cola and Coca-Cola light brands. There I spent 2 and a half years being part of a wonderful team of great professionals. After that I was moved to our regional office in Belgrade to run our fast growing and emerging operations for Macedonia & Kosovo. In 2006, I was relocated to Sarajevo to run Bosnian market and in 2008, once we acquired local Juice business in Serbia Fresh&Co, I got appointed as Marketing Manager. Since 2010, I am again based in Belgrade as franchise country manager leading one of the most successful team in Coke system covering the markets of Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia & Kosovo.
You graduated from university in the United States and you have lived in different places on the Balkans for work. Can you tell us more about how this was a learning experience for you?
I always tell all my newly hired young colleagues that you are as rich as experiences that you accumulate in life. My mobility, both in early days of education and later on during my career, has opened and broadened my perspectives and allowed me to get in touch with diverse array of cultures, views and people that I’ve learned from and made me who I am today
Can you tell us what are the top three accomplishments you are most proud of at The Coca-Cola Company so far?
In my 16 years career with Coke, I had many moments that particularly made me proud, but I would have to highlight few that made serious impact not only on our business but also in the community where we operate. As I believe that our business can only be as prosperous as the prosperity of our communities, I have to point out the recognition for sustainability that our system received last year in Serbia. This award recognized following efforts: 1. Water preservation as key resource that our business uses. Joint project run in Gorno Podunavlje with WWF covering the complete quantities of water used by our European Coca-Cola business, helping our global ambition by 2020 to become water neutral (return to nature amounts of water equal to the ones we consume during the production of our beverages). Second, the launch of plant based packaging for our water brand ROSA in efforts to minimize our ecological footprint, and last but not least, the relief efforts that our system provided by donating over 1.1 MM USD and over 70,000 working hours of volunteering by our system employees to the region to recover from the worst natural disaster hit by 2014 floods.
All this recognitions are strong proof that businesses can do well by doing good, which makes me extremely proud to be part of this company and is a key source of inspiration to continue building brighter and more sustainable future for all.
What are the top skills a person needs to have in order to make it in a company as successful as The Coca-Cola Company?
I face this dilemma every time I interview new candidates, and what I have found over time is that you should always look for the person with right values/character and attitude, not so much for the technical skills as those can be learned easily. Based on that, I believe that if people want to thrive in their career, they need to be able to stay curious so they can continually innovate, inspiring so they can lead, inclusive so they can build wide range of perspectives, and finally walk the talk so they retain high level of integrity.
What is the best part for you of working for The Coca-Cola Company?
On one of the walls of our offices in Belgrade we have our Company mission written that says: We come to work every day to refresh the world, inspire moments of optimism and make positive difference to anyone who is touched by our business. What can be more inspiring than this?
