Fast Track Leadership Program: 5 reasons why

Do you believe in love at first sight? Do you believe that a chance encounter can be beginning of something really special? Do you have in mind how your perfect career "match" looks like?

To be honest, if I was asked these questions few months ago, I would probably say no. However, the things have recently changed .

My first "eye contact" with AB-InBev was at HEC Business Game in Paris, AB-InBev hosted one of the student challenges there. Together with the team we had a chance to pitch our proposal on Corona marketing activation in France to AB-InBev managers. I enjoyed the moment of working on the solution itself (Corona is my favorite summer beer btw), as well as the challenging questions we received from the managers. On my way home I decided that I wanna get to know the company better.

The second chance was not long in coming: in April 2018 I was selected for the career event "Business Sprint", taking place in Prague office. Together with other students we played a couple of business games, took a part in blind beer tasting and, what was even more important, had a chance to meet and talk to AB-InBev People (read: my future colleagues). And I fell in love with this atmosphere, with how smart, motivated and inspired they were. I was impressed how opened and approachable everyone from trainees to top managers was. At some point I thought: "This might be a place where I wanna come every day". Fortunately, one of the people I talked to was Anna Ostrovskaya, Fast Track Leadership Trainee 2017-2018. Over a glass of Leffe, she briefly explained me what is the Fast Leadership Program and what I could expect from it. I realized that is sounds as my "perfect career match" and submitted my application the same evening.

Now it's your turn to take a seat, maybe with a glass of Leffe: being one of the Fast Track Leadership Trainees of the year 2018-2019, I wanna share my first steps in this program. So, what is it about and why FTL?

1. Zone Induction

The program starts for all the trainees (FTLs, GMTs, SMTs and MVPs) in August in Leuven in AB-InBev HQ and home of Stella Artois. These 3 weeks are extremely intense and full of activities helping you to get to know the company better: we had a chance to visit Stella Artois brewery and complete the Beer Tapping Course, visit a variety of trainings valuable for future operations, meet the Vice Presidents of all the functions giving us a detailed overviews and answering our questions. In addition, the Zone Induction was an excellent opportunity for the networking both with the trainees from other countries and AB-InBev managers.

2. Operations

The program itself lasts 12 month and consists of 2 rotations in different departments (it can be Finance, Logistics, Export or People) for 6 month each. I think it can be consider as a great chance to check and prove that you are a fast learner (you have it in your CV, right?), as well as an opportunity to see the "big picture" of company's operation and try yourself in different function in a short period of time (the best way to understand where you want to be). My first rotation is Finance, where in Procure-to-Pay department we maintain sustainable relationships with our suppliers and ensure that all the payments are made on time. Although I did my bachelor degree in Finance, I can definitely say that I am learning here every day!

3 Project

Alongside with daily operation, we work on a group consultancy cross-functional project. For my first rotation, together with Claudia Giulietti and Thomas Debaene we were assigned to the project on clustering and improving of AB-InBev global export. Every 2 month we present our progress to top management. On top, 2 weeks ago we had an amazing chance to share or progress and ideas with Global Vice President of Supply Chain - Danillo Figueiredo and all Import and Export Directors. We received a valuable feedback and continue working on the final proposal. What inspires me about it is the fact that in case our proposal is validated in the end of the project, we will see the real changes and impact already in the nearest future!

4. Focus on leadership

Since the main goal of FTL program is to prepare young graduates to the first leading position as soon as the program is completed in 12 month, a great focus is allocated to leadership development. It includes weekly sessions with our Team Leaders, where they share with us their own experience, the challenges they face every day and how they overcome them; monthly sessions with Managers, Mentoring and Couching sessions as well the continuous feedback we receive on our performance (and as you know, feedback is a great gift).

5. AB-InBev Ambassador

As FTL trainees, we are also actively involved in attracting new talents to #bestbeerjob. This October I came to my home university, this time not as student, but as AB-InBev Ambassador to participate in a Career Fair and help students to get to know the company better!

On top, together with other trainees, we organized 2 outstanding Beer Tasting Events combined with the Company's Introduction. The events took place in our Prague office, where students had a chance to know more about AB-InBev, our history, culture and values, as well as the opportunities we offer, try 4-6 our exclusive brands and participate in the networking open-bar with our top managers. I would never imagine that one day I will be dealing with organizing an event from A to Z, including the selection process, promotion, food pairing and all other tiny details, but it brings a great pleasure to see how all these student are enjoying the moment and we made it happen!

Wait for my next update: I am about to finish my first rotation in Finance and first project in Global Export. Let's see what 2019 has for me as a new challenge and new surprise!

If you have any questions or just wanna know more about the FTL program, feel free to drop me a message or follow the link

Cheers :-)