Patrick’s story: Open to opportunity

10 years ago, I started as a maintenance technician at Coca‑Cola Hellenic Bottling Company (CCHBC) before I got the opportunity to become production manager – and then plant manager – when all of the Romerquelle operations were moved to the small village of Edelstal.

Since then we have grown into one of the five biggest plants in the company with well over three hundred people.

We faced a lot of challenges to get here, but part of our success is that we’ve always been open to advice or input from outside sources. I was actually surprised by how open people were to giving support when I was just starting out in my new role. The CCHBC world is huge – if I didn’t know how to fix an issue, I knew I could get the support or expertise from others within the company.

The most important thing I learned during this period of growth?

You might fall behind if you close yourself off from the support of others. Involve specialists from other countries when you need them and always maintain transparency within your team – don’t try to hide anything – the good or the bad.

Performance thinking is in our blood and is one of the most important aspects of our organisation.

This doesn’t only apply to the success of our plants or projects but also to our team. At one stage I was the youngest Production Manager in the Coca‑Cola Hellenic organisation. I had one hundred and fifty people to lead and was responsible for the quality and safety of the lines. This experience really challenged me because I was still so young, but now at the age of thirty-one, I’m the youngest Plant Manager – a role I have wanted since I was a child and visited my father while he was working as a plant manager – of one of the biggest plants in CCHBC.

At CCHBC one day is never like another and I’ve learned that, in order to grow and succeed, you need to be flexible and ready for a fast-moving world, eager to take on new responsibilities and new challenges. All of my career opportunities were offers, but importantly I was open to them. Having this willingness to develop is how you accelerate really fast in your career.

I’m still settling in and have plenty of room to grow, but I’m already so proud of the team. When I am away for two weeks of vacation, the plant does not burn to the ground and everything runs smoothly. That shows me my team is performing well, and that my focus on their development has been successful.

They inspire me and get me excited about work every day. I love watching how they get together to solve challenges and seeing their desire to grow. That’s what really motivates me – seeing people I recruited five years ago who are now leading teams of their own.