At Constellation Brands, we are committed to offering programs, resources, and experiences that empower employees to grow their careers and keep reaching for what’s next, both personally and professionally.
To that end, our Early Career Professionals (ECP) Business Resource Group established the annual Case Competition to support early career professional growth, identify future leaders, and foster new ideas to continue to fuel our business. This competition brings together cross-functional teams from across the company to examine a real-world business challenge or opportunity.
For this year’s prompt, participants worked together to devise and present a corporate program that promotes the integration of multigenerational perspectives. With a specific focus on Gen Z, teams collaborated to explore how to better engage this emerging demographic.
The ECP Case Competition brings together employees eager to showcase their creativity, refine their problem-solving abilities, and practice presentation and public speaking skills. Kirk Santos, SVP of Global Talent, described the competition as an “immersive, experiential learning opportunity” that equips participants with the skills to succeed in today’s fast-paced business environment. Jim Malvaso, Executive Sponsor of our ECP Business Resource Group and SVP of HR, shared, “senior leaders throughout the organization are given a first-hand look at Constellation’s future leaders.”
This year’s participants exceeded expectations, and we are eager to see how they continue to shape the future of Constellation Brands. We sat down with the winning team, the “NextGen Visionaries,” and their coach Sierra Szarowicz, Director of Category Leadership for Beer National Accounts, to learn more about their experience participating in the competition.
The “NextGen Visionaries” designed a two-pillar approach to solve this year’s prompt. Their solutions focused on a customizable audience insights dashboard to deepen our understanding of Gen Z’s consumption behaviors and a Gen Z advisory council to provide ongoing feedback and guidance. Utilizing a variety of tools and data-backed insights, teammates Daniel DeClerk, Kathleen Fox, and Ryleigh Robinson, created a solution that was realistic and cost-effective, earning them first place in the competition.
Building Connections and Learning New Perspectives
Kathleen Fox, an Innovation Project Manager for Emerging Brands, Beer Division, recently joined Constellation and encourages all team members to join the competition, even if they are new to the company. For her, the most rewarding part of the competition was “working with new people across teams, business units, and functions.” Daniel DeClerk, a Space Execution Specialist, shared similar reflections, emphasizing that “the competition gave me a chance to understand what other teams at Constellation are working on. It also taught me how to partner with my team to develop strategies that showcase each person’s strengths,” he said. This spirit of teamwork and collaboration was an essential part of the team’s success.
Lessons in Collaboration and Storytelling
Competing in the ECP Case Competition taught participants valuable lessons that they will carry forward in their careers and, for the “NextGen Visionaries,” they credit their robust solution to cultivating diverse perspectives and a positive team dynamic.
For Ryleigh Robinson, a Brand Activation Customer Marketing Manager, the biggest takeaway was the importance of communication between team members. “Ensuring all opinions were heard and that we were always in lockstep helped us bring the strongest story forward,” she reflected. Ryleigh also shared that “it’s very rewarding to create an idea that includes everyone’s unique input.”
Kathleen emphasized the power of storytelling when tasked with communicating their ideas clearly and effectively to the panel of judges. “The biggest lesson I learned was the importance of showing the why behind our approach and its potential impact,” she explained.
Cultivating Skills for a Future Worth Reaching For
For early career professionals looking to tackle future challenges, participating in the competition can have significant benefits. Daniel shared how working with teammates from diverse backgrounds and teams gave him new insights on leveraging unique skills for the Space Execution team. “This is a skill I will definitely utilize in future projects,” he added.
Participants also benefited from guidance provided by their coach, Sierra Szarowicz. She believes the competition is invaluable for fostering cross-functional collaboration and discussed how mentoring the team helped her learn different industry insights. “It breaks down silos and sparks creativity and innovation, leading to more effective problem-solving and decision-making,” shared Sierra. She also enjoyed watching the team approach a situation uniquely, while ultimately coming together to provide a real-life, practical solution.
The ECP Case Competition is a testament to our commitment to best-in-class people development, cross-functional collaboration, and innovative thinking. Stay tuned as we continue to celebrate the accomplishments of our incredible employees and efforts to create a future Worth Reaching For.