So, what do you do? A chat with Business Account Manager Claire Kinsey

Today we continue our mini-series where we talk with different colleagues around the world to learn more about the important roles they play at Energizer Holdings and understand a bit about their careers.

We recently chatted with Claire Kinsey – Business Account Manager, Amazon Europe – to learn about her career path, what her day-to-day looks like and why she decided to "boomerang" back to Energizer.

Why have you chosen to work in the consumer-packaged goods industry?

To be honest, I didn’t necessarily make a conscious decision to join this industry. As I came up through university, I was fortunate that Energizer had some great opportunities. I took on a role in Accounts Receivable and the rest is history.

Once you’re in this industry, it’s such a fun place to be, and it’s an enjoyable culture to be around. Once you’re in, I don’t find that many people end up leaving.

So you started in Accounts Receivable and now you're in a more digital role as an Account Manager. What has that career journey looked like for you?

I spend a few years on the Accounts Receivable team, and I was able to achieve what I wanted to in that particular role. I started to look at our Sales team because I thought it would suit my skills better – I’m very much an outgoing person, so I wanted an opportunity to engage with more people as well.

I was fortunate again that a role on that team opened up and was able to take on a junior sales role. From there, I worked with different people and teams, working my way up through different roles. I actually went to a different organization for several years, but ended up doing the “boomerang” move and came back to Energizer. When I returned, I came back into a Business Account Manager role.

What made you decide to come back to Energizer?

A lot of it was actually the companies I would get the chance to work with while at Energizer. When I left, I stopped working on an Amazon-focused account. And I found out that’s where my passion really lies – working with Amazon. I just really enjoy it! But I definitely jumped at the chance to return and couldn’t wait to come back.

Tell us a bit about your current role.

I’m the Business Account Manager for Amazon Europe, and also for Ocado in the U.K. It’s quite a varied, complex role and that’s why I love it. There’s always something new going on, and you have to build a lot of strong relationships to make things work across the world.

Like a lot of roles, you need to have good attention to detail. When I came in, the role was still forming a bit, so I had the unique opportunity to help build the role, which was really nice. There weren’t footsteps to follow – I had to make those footsteps.

What’s the biggest challenge in your work right now?

In this role I do have quite a few responsibilities. I’m the business manager for all of Amazon Europe for our Auto Care products, so anything that’s related to Amazon in Europe, I’m responsible for. From start to finish, I’m rolling up my sleeves to get the job done. It can certainly be challenging, but it’s a challenge I enjoy.

What kind of skills do you need to succeed in your career??????

For some of the more “basic” skills, there’s a lot spreadsheets involved so you definitely need to know Excel. But overall, I think the key to succeed in account management is to be good at relationship building. I’ve done that during both stints at Energizer and its helped me further my career and show people what I can do.

What advice do you have for someone who wants to move into this type of career?

If you’re going to join a consumer-packaged goods company, do your research on them. Go into stores, look at products, look at the marketing, look at the packaging. You should also be up to date on industry news, product innovations and things like that. Networking is also good; speaking with people already in the industry is really helpful.

I also try to think like a shopper. There’s a lot of research you can do so it’s an easy industry to learn from the outside because we all shop these products. So put yourself in the mindset of a shopper to think about what they want and need.

How would you describe the culture here at Energizer?

We’re a close-knit team, and it’s a really fun culture. We actually have a group of colleagues who helps support the culture here, so there’s always something going on that brings something extra to work. We definitely work hard together, but we also know that we’re going to have some fun while we’re doing it.

I also think it’s great that we’re not hierarchical around here. Other places I’ve worked, people would be worried about sitting near the sales director or something like that because they thought it was scary. Everyone feels like they’re on the same level here and it’s quite nice. It’s just a lovely place to work.

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