MEET CLAES WIKNER - KEY ACCOUNT MANAGER SWEDEN

Thursday, March 17, 2022

What is your current role and what makes it exciting?

I work as a Key Account Manager responsible for our business with Coop in Sweden. This means working together with many external and internal contacts to ensure that our joint business with the customer develops in a positive way. As a Key Account Manager, one is the 'spider in the web' for basically everything that applies to the customer and the role includes many different responsibilities - from selling in new products and negotiating annual plans for our mutually-enabled activations, to ensuring good forecasts and clear communication with our sales force.

What personal qualities or skills make you successful in your position?

You need to be good at building relationships, collaborate with others and good at communicating. I'm also structured, goal-oriented and driven by constant development. There's always something you can improve to make the business and the collaboration with the customer a little better.

How has your career developed at MDLZ?

I started as Key Account Manager for the Impulse Channel in late 2019. After a year and a half in that position, I was given the opportunity to take over the role as responsible for our business with Coop; which is one of the biggest players in the Swedish retail market.

What kind of project, assignments have you done outside of the traditional career moves that helped you further your career?

I have been involved in the Swedish project group working on the implementation of Mondelez's new data and analysis system O.S.A. which has been interesting and helped me to get a deeper understanding of how we work with data and what kind of data you can combine to create as relevant analyses and reports as possible. During my time as KAM for the Impulse Channel a significant part of the job included planning and executing fairs - both physical and digital - which also meant contact with advertising agencies and event planners.

How do you describe the culture at MDLZ?

MDLZ has a very dynamic and open culture. Colleagues of many different backgrounds coming together under one roof. There are ample opportunities for personal development – for example trying on different roles in different departments - and a clear focus on growth both for the individual and the organization. The leadership is empathetic and committed. The work situation is flexible with the ability to split work between home and office in a way that ensures a healthy work life balance.

And finally, what is your favorite MDLZ brand?

Marabou milk chocolate has everything you want from a chocolate bar. It's simply how chocolate tastes in Sweden! I als have great memories from my childhood, coming home from football practice and making myself a glass of cold O’boy with toast – another Swedish classic! However with so many iconic brands in one and the same portfolio, it's really hard to pick just one favorite.