COURAGE AND FLEXIBILITY ARE KEY FOR BECOMING A SUCCESSFUL LEADER

In the modern society, women have identical professional and living choices as well as men. Many of them took advantage and proved themselves as successful leaders on each possible level. Biljana Smiljkovska is one of them.

She has started her job as a microbiologist in Pivara Skopje 25 years ago, and today she proudly carries the role of a senior leader in the supply chain in Coca- Cola HBC. Biljana is responsible for manufacturing in Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia, Macedonia and Romania.

“Glass Full” had the great pleasure to host Biljana in Pivara Skopje for running the interview.

You have an outstanding career background from Pivara Skopje. Can you tell us more what the Alcohol free beverages Supply Chain Manager background from Pivara Skopje means for you seeing it from today’s perspective?

I consider myself very fortunate to have had opportunity to work on several SC positions. It has definitely given me ability to see business from various points of view, having in mind I have started career as Microbiologist and progressed to the position of AFB Operations Manager in Pivara Skopje.

Being assumed to the position of Supply Chain Manager in Serbia & Montenegro afterwards, my advantage was that I have already had a solid foundation from which I have built leadership skills. Furthermore, it has given me confidence and credibility as a senior leader with various supply chain skills and experience to represent my team and build good business relationship with colleagues across the business.

What are your experiences so far from Serbia related to being part of an international company there and compared to the business here in Macedonia?

The biggest difference is that market in Serbia is bigger and much more complex. It is comprised of 3 territories with large number of stock keeping units. We have in-house production of three different categories SSDs, Juices and Water, but at the same time we are selling even more: except previously mentioned also energy drinks, beer, alcohol etc. Besides that, we also supply other countries within Coca-Cola HBC with beverages.

It certainly was a challenging task for me, but with great support from my team in Serbia, I managed to understand market needs and our customers’ preferences quickly and on that basis, I was able to focus on crucial areas and, together with my team, to deliver results.

What does it take to be a successful Senior Leader in an international company like Coca-Cola HBC?

From my perspective, most important traits are courage, dedication and flexibility.

Courage is essential for those who aspire to take over top management positions. Leaders should be brave and demonstrate their confidence, in order to make serious and difficult decisions in complex and demanding business environment.

Leaders have to be led by premise that when good results are achieved, it is an accomplishment of the whole team, but when things get rough, and results are not as expected, it is on the leader to take responsibility.

Leaders should be fully dedicated to their work and mission, and there should be always consistency in what they say and what they do.

At the end, flexibility is inevitable ingredient of every successful leader. The only constant is change. Therefore we have very quickly to adjust to it and always be ready for new requirements coming from the market, in order to stay at the top of the game.

What is your greatest accomplishment you are most proud of at Coca-Cola HBC so far?

There are so many projects and team results I am proud of, but I would point out our most recent project: Creating juice excellence center. We moved juice production from Subotica plant and opened new Juice center in Belgrade plant. We managed to finish the project in time without any interruptions and issues. For that I mostly owe to my colleagues from our cross-functional team that shows commitment, dedication and courage to deliver the project successfully. I am very proud of them and the leadership capabilities they have shown. I have also learned a lot from my colleagues along the way and that is what inspires me every day to be better myself and makes me proud to be part of Coca Cola HBC family.

Let’s talk about the gender perspective in business today. What do you think is women’s role in improving gender equality in the business, and on the other side, what can men do more about it?

Comparing it to when I was starting my career, situation regarding gender equality is much better nowadays. Back then, there weren’t a lot of women in supply chain, definitely not on management positions. What motivated me to go forward in my career is great passion for supply chain and desire to prove myself in this area. I don’t look at myself as female in male-oriented business, but as a supply chain professional who collaborates with peers and other business professionals in achieving our company’s goals.

Women generally have fought throughout the years for their respective place in business.

For example, when I joined Serbian senior leadership team, out of seven members, five were women. All five of us were promoted on a new positions in the past few months.

That is great success and I am very proud of Coca-Cola HBC as a company which recognizes women as good leaders and gives them opportunity to achieve their full potential. From my personal experience, with all my colleagues I always have mutual respect and very good cooperation.

Can you give us some tips as a working mum on how to successfully balance family and work, especially considering the fact that you work in Belgrade, you have a lot of business traveling, and from family aspect, part of your family is in Belgrade and the other in Skopje?

My husband was of a great support while deciding to move to Belgrade. I wouldn’t be able to balance everything without him. At the moment, my younger son is in secondary school here in Belgrade, while the older son is on 2nd year of faculty in Skopje. My husband is very frequent traveler on Belgrade- Skopje relation, and a great support for both of them.

It is not always easy to balance private life and work, but I remind myself that things aren’t always supposed to be easy, but worth doing.

During the week I am spending a lot of time at work, but the weekends are dedicated for the family and we are trying to spend as much as possible quality time together.