Nestlé Waters North America President and Chief Executive Kim Jeffery answers questions on his birthplace, hobbies, leadership style and proudest achievements at the company.
Talk about your career
“I started in this company at the age of 30 in 1978. That makes me 58 years old. I was raised in the US Midwest, specifically a suburb of Chicago, Illinois. Prior to Perrier, as the company was known then, I spent four years with PepsiCo and four years with Kraft Foods.”
What are your hobbies?
“I have four young children (I didn’t start a family until 48), and I spend a lot of time with them and my wife, Mary. When not with them, you can find me playing golf. I particularly like links courses and have played over 100 of them in the UK.”
Briefly describe your leadership style
“My leadership style is to lead by example. The beliefs we have at Nestlé Waters North America include integrity, transparency, teamwork and respect for people. It is my job to ensure that all of our leaders build passion and commitment by role modelling the kind of behaviour that inspires people. Creating context for people, taking a real interest in them at the heart level and helping them achieve their personal goals is my responsibility and that of our leaders and I am non-negotiable on this. We have a very strong culture of personal accountability that begins with me. People can do extraordinary things if they like what they do and who they are doing it for.”
What are your thoughts on the levels of customer satisfaction your business delivers?
“In our HOD business, customer satisfaction is highly quantifiable. Our customer turnover is at an all time low and much better, I believe, than our major competitor. Having said this, we can always do better. On the retail side, customer satisfaction probably is best measured by market share and, here again, while we haven’t achieved our goal, we are gaining. Our PET shares in measured and non-measured channels are now over 40%.”
What is your biggest achievement at the company?
“My biggest achievement without question has been the development of a culture which is at once ultra-competitive, yet civilised and apolitical, which walks the talk regarding values-based leadership, is filled with inspirational leaders and great people, and is so strong today it is literally self-sustainable. With almost 9,000 employees, you can only get the kind of results we’ve achieved.”
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