The Drinks Association is thrilled to welcome its newest board member, Hayden Abercrombie, Marketing & Innovation Director at Diageo.
Hayden's career with Diageo spans almost 11 years, where he has assumed various marketing, brand, and innovation positions across Australia, the UK, Europe, and Africa.
Prior to his current appointment, Hayden embarked on his most significant role to date – that of a father. After a busy and rewarding 12-month parental leave period, he resumed full-time work in August of this year.
We recently took the opportunity to interview Hayden on his career in the drinks industry, his outlook for the sector and how he plans to leverage his board position to drive positive change.
You’ve just come back from over a year of parental leave. How did the business support you in the lead up to you leaving and during your time at home?
They were unconditionally supportive throughout the whole process – pre, during and return to work. We planned for my transition out of the business well in advance, they broadly left me to my own devices while I was away (with the odd check in to see how I was going) and were incredibly flexible in support of the timing of my return. This policy has been in place for nearly four years now so we’ve had a lot of practice!
What’s life like settling into your new role? Any big/exciting initiatives you are working on that you can share more about?
Life is very intense but equal measures fulfilling. I’m really enjoying getting my head back in the game and hearing about all the fabulous work that’s been developed while I’ve been away.
In terms of key responsibilities, I think a marketing director needs to have one foot firmly placed in the present and one in the future. Supporting the team to deliver our performance ambition within the year, with equal measure on preparing us now to be able to win with what the consumer is looking for in 3-5 years down the track.
We have some fabulous work about to hit the market on Bundy, Johnnie Walker and Don Julio Tequila so keep an eye out for that.
What do you believe your key role is as a board member?
To be a constructive and objective voice for the industry in service of progress.
What are you most looking forward to in this role? Any particular initiatives that you are excited about?
I love the world of data and I reckon we’ve only scratched the surface when it comes to fully harnessing it in service of creating better drinks experiences for all Australians. I’m really looking forward to how we can better utilise the incredible resource that’s available within the Drinks Association to do this.
Are there any key areas of focus that you believe the drinks industry needs to further develop to continue our journey to become a career destination of choice?
I think just continuing to build their profile and demonstrate what they can offer and what benefits it brings to the industry. Do great marketing basically!