Meet Arwa, KSA Commercial Manager

Wednesday, September 20,2023

How has MDLZ provided you with the learning opportunities and space to grow your skills as a leader?

There are variety of opportunities in which individuals can grow their skills. There are online courses to take in different fields. Those courses target to enhance soft skills or technical skills. In addition, there are projects an employee can participate in. Such projects give us a chance to explore the business from different angle than the one in our daily work. On top of that, the availability of mentors and one to one meet ups with seniors have added lot of value to develop us.

How did you manage your career progression over the last few years?

These are the vital traits that got me to progress in my career and I think are necessary to have for those who want to progress their career; operating with excellence, staying focused, understanding the process, being committed, following up and monitoring, treating challenges as opportunities.

Tell us about your career journey so far.

I started my career back in U.S. in one the largest agribusiness company as an intern, then, I was offered a full time job. Few years later, I moved to Saudi Arabia working in a manufacturing company as a Finance Business Partner. Years after, I had an opportunity to work as KSA Commercial Controller. Now, I am KSA Commercial Manager with MDLZ.

What do you think a great leader should have to create a healthy culture?

Integrity and honesty. To build a healthy work culture, we all must be honest, true to our words, actions, and thoughts, and be responsible. This will build up a trustful, reliable, and ethical professional relationships. Communication: it is two ways of communications (sending and receiving). When discussing with my team or cross function, it is essential to clearly simplify the message and explain the purpose. When receiving communication, it is as important to understand the message and give the other individuals full attention and feedback accordingly. Flexibility: in this industry, agility plays essential role to succussed and pace ourselves forward. There is no one way of doing the job, hence, giving the team the room to get creative, flexibility on deliverable items results in more operation efficiencies, enhance work dynamics, and upskilling the whole team.