Senior Brand Manager at Proctor and Gamble, Isaac Santos
The interview with a senior assistant brand manager at P&G’s Cincinnati Headquarters’ Isaac Santos was done over the phone. He grew up in Ecuador and studied at the university of Goizueta business school. He came to the United States to further his education and better his life. He has worked his way up from various positions at P&G until his current position as a senior brand manager.
You: How did you join P&G?
Santos: I sent my application through my former school, the university of Florida and then Proctor and Gamble contacted me for an interview. It was done by one of the managers and had a part of it was reasoning test; it was pretty fast and the questions were straightforward.
You: Did you always see yourself as a brand manager?
Santos: My parents are teachers so naturally I fancied to be a teacher but then I went to campus and realized it was not wanted to do, but business was my passion. Being a brand manager allows you to be creative, and you can think of anything in the world, sometimes it's a genius idea, sometimes not so much.
You: What is your previous work experience?
Santos: I have worked s an environment officer for testing safe drinking water that was before I went to study business. I worked an administrative assistant in P&G, and I was there for five years, I was then put in finance and I worked my way up through other departments. Now I am senior assistant brand manager which is a very satisfying position but I am still working hard and trying to prove my worth and get to the very top.
You: Can you describe your work?
Santos: I am in charge of business strategies of North America, Middle East, Africa, Eastern Europe and Latin America. I am also in charge of trademarks and packaging designs together with my immediate boss we ensure quality production and representation of P&G Brand products and usually work on projects that have been recommended from the database and documents; I also analyze qualitative data from external sources.
You: What are the challenges faced by a brand manager
Santos: The most difficult task is to come up with a commodity that is unique and will satisfy the needs of the consumer. The product also needs to be quiet captivating to attract the customer and also has to be up to the standards of P&G.
You: When you look back the last ten years with your company, what projects have been the most significant to you how is P&G involved in advocacy work?
Santos: P&G has principles and values that guide in participation in politics that allows for the involvement in public policy and legislation that helps us to involve in people’s lives in parts of the world. This ensures that our employees and other consumer’s rights are represented fairly in the government. Our public policy and legislation views are reviewed with business leaders at senior levels annually with governance and civil responsibility committee of the board of directors. We also have P&G safe drinking water program partners with other NGOs such as CDC, Global Water Challenge, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent societies, UNICEF and so many more NGOs to help take clean drinking water to developing countries and emergency relief around the world. Proctor and gamble are also committed to eliminating research that involves animals that are our policy on the research and practices and progress. We have put in more than 200 million dollars to help in the development of other alternatives to research and testing using animals.
You: What do you do for leisure?
Santos: I work out, spend time with my family. I read lots of books; they help to invigorate me and keep me focused, and I also pray. For vacation, I like to go back home and see my parents and sometimes I vacation to exotic destinations around the world.
Proctor and Gamble is one of those companies that have a remarkable force in our world. The market capitalization is greater than in most developing countries, and they have products in almost 200 countries around the globe. This gives them an opportunity to be empowered to give back and offer opportunities to the less fortunate. This also gives them a voice in all sectors whether its business or politics. The principles of P&G are the building blocks for P&G culture.
Works Cited
Decker, Charles L. Winning with the P&g 99: 99 Principles and Practices of Procter & Gamble's Success. New York: Pocket Books, 1999. Print.
Wengraf, Tom. Qualitative Research Interviewing: Biographical Narrative and Semi-Structured Methods. Thousand Oaks, Calif: SAGE, 2001. Internet resource.
