Empowering Early Career Professionals Through the Annual ECP Case Competition

Constellation Brands’ 2025 Early Career Professionals (ECP) Case Competition and annual flagship program:

• Brought together early-career professionals from across the organization to solve real business challenges and cultivate future leaders.
  
• Engaged more than 60 early-career employees, 15 employee coaches, and more than 20 employee judges.
  
• Focused on developing strategies that empower employees to authentically champion Constellation and its products.
  
• Demonstrated Constellation’s commitment to building a strong talent pipeline and preparing future leaders for career advancement and long-term success.
  

The annual Early Career Professionals Case Competition is one of Constellation Brands’ most-valued initiatives for career development, bringing together early-career employees into cross-functional teams to collaborate and present ideas that solve a real-world business challenge. This program fuels confidence, sparks innovation, and helps identify future leaders, while generating ideas that can shape the future of our business.

Through this flagship event, participants refine their ability to problem-solve, present with confidence, and collaborate effectively, all while showcasing creativity and professionalism.

The 2025 ECP Case Competition Focus
This year’s competition invited teams to design a strategy that empowered employees to actively champion Constellation Brands and our premium portfolio of iconic brands. Participants explored tools, programs, training, and incentives that could inspire employees at all levels to authentically share our brands’ stories within their personal networks, in the marketplace, and across digital platforms.

Cultivating Growth and Honing Skills 
This year’s participants delivered thought-provoking and innovative ideas that surpassed expectations. Beyond a test of their skills to develop new concepts, the case competition became a powerful opportunity for growth, confidence, and connection across teams. 

“I saw each team member develop remarkable confidence,” said Kate Caraballo, Senior Director of Talent Acquisition and Workforce Planning and coach of the winning team, The Role Modelos. “By the end, they were not only contributing innovative perspectives and thinking creatively, but also actively supporting and encouraging one another.”

For participants, the experience was equally rewarding as it provided them with the opportunity to expand their networks, gain insight into different roles, and build confidence in high-stakes settings. For many, building confidence was transformative.
 
“This gave me the opportunity to meet new people, understand their role in the company, and continue building my network within Constellation,” said Andrew Bossman, Control Lead, Wine & Spirits Sales. “Now that I have presented to executive leaders through this competition, I feel more comfortable and confident when presenting in any other capacity.”

Leadership support also played a critical role in fueling this growth. Open, responsive engagement from executives encouraged bold thinking and reinforced a culture where every idea counts. “I noticed how willing and quick leadership was to answer our questions and help us throughout this process. It was really encouraging and a reminder to speak up with ideas,” reflected Jack Cotter, Senior Analyst, Media, Wine & Spirits.

The Power of Collaboration 
Beyond individual development, the competition highlighted the significance of collaboration. The ECP Case Competition puts employees from different business units and with varied experiences on a team, helping early-career professionals learn how to present their unique perspectives while developing stronger solutions together.

“The most valuable takeaway was a reminder that diverse perspectives strengthen the quality of any solution,” shared Kim Heinsinger, State Sales Lead, Wine & Spirits Sales.

Participants also experienced firsthand how collaboration drives results. Working in teams allowed them to combine strengths and achieve more together than they could alone. “When you get a group of people together who work well and build off each other’s strengths, you learn a lot about what can be accomplished through productive collaboration,” said Sarah Parker, Specialist, Brand Activation Retail Connections.

A Commitment to People Development
Building thoughtful talent pipelines and championing professional advancement are core components of our people strategy, which is designed to position our business for long-term growth. 

“This exposure helps identify and nurture emerging talent, equipping future leaders with the skills, mindset, and visibility needed to drive innovation and contribute meaningfully to the company’s success,” echoed Anne Fritsche, Vice President, Beer Insights.

This year’s ECP Case Competition underscores our commitment by equipping employees with the skills needed to be consumer-obsessed, drive business results, and shape the future of the industry along the way.

Bringing the Winning Idea to Life
Following the competition, The Role Modelos has continued to advance their ideas through ongoing discussions with key partners across the business. Team members have met with Constellation’s Talent Development and IT teams to explore how their idea can be implemented to further empower employees, as well as their networks of family and friends, to become even stronger champions of the iconic brands within Constellation’s premium portfolio.