Setting strong, clear priorities for the business has been the driving force behind Andrew Reeves holistic approach to leadership. Since assuming the position of CEO of George Weston Foods in 2011, Andrew has transformed the culture, strategies, and vision of this massive organisation.
My career has primarily been in fast-moving consumer goods businesses in Australia, mostly in food and beverage. The main companies Ive worked for have been Kimberly-Clark, Coca-Cola Amatil, and Lion. Ive spent the past two and a half years at George Weston. My functional background was in marketing. I started in marketing, and then expanded across marketing and sales and ultimately moved into general management. Ive been leading and running businesses now since 1993 stated Andrew.
You learn a lot of things over the years in different businesses and sectors. To distil that, there are a number of things that have been really helping me. The first one would be the absolute importance of getting clear strategic choices made about the business youre in, where you want to compete, how you want to do that, and then using that to really help you prioritise.
I have a very strong belief that you have to be really rigorous and disciplined about priorities in business. I tell people to distinguish between the interesting and the important and then try to simplify it. Dont make it overly complex; just be really clear about what youre trying to do and your priorities. It really channels your focus.