Mark, Regional Finance Director

1. What's your background? What subjects did you study, and where?

I've always been quite an analytical person and was veryinterested in chemistry at school. I had no idea what job I wanted to dowhen I finished my A –levels so I decided to follow my interests andstudied chemistry at Oriel College, Oxford.

2. Can you give us a quick snapshot of your career so far?

By the time I'd graduated, I knew I wanted to pursue a careeroutside of my degree subject. I completed my accountancy exams with awell known firm of chartered accountants and received great all-roundfinance and business training. After six years working in publicpractice, however, I was ready to move onwards and upwards and startedlooking for a role in industry. I spent five years at a largepharmaceutical company in two finance roles before I joined ReckittBenckiser as Head of Corporate Reporting. I soon took on some investorrelations responsibilities before being promoted to corporate controllerin 2003. Most recently, I moved to the USA in February 2009 as SVPFinance for the North America and Australia area.

3. What do you think is the single thing that has driven yourcareer? What made you choose your professional specialism, and what madeyou choose FMCG?

I have a strong desire to continuously learn and improve myselfso I can make a positive influence on the business I work for.Accountancy offers a wider range of opportunities, and gave me athorough training in business matters. For me, it's important to workfor a company that I feel connected to – somewhere that makes full useof my specialism but still has the space and scope for me to grow. Ifound that in Reckitt Benckiser. It offers a truly global scale yetretains a small company 'entrepreneurial' feel. FMCG is a fast pacedwork environment, so things move quickly and there's no time forprocrastination, which is great for people like me who like to makethings happen.

4. What do you love about working in FMCG?

FMCG is a constantly changing business, which forces everyone toconstantly re-evaluate their roles and the work they do. The speed atwhich FMCG operates is exciting and stimulates me to find innovativesolutions to issues. We don't waste time and here at Reckitt Benckiserwe can't wait around for consensus – we just get on with it! I also lovethe fact that my career lies firmly in my own hands. I'm not sittingaround waiting for people to recognize my successes – I'm controlling myown destiny.

5. What opportunities have you had in terms of career progression and achievement?

Here at Reckitt Benckiser, the opportunities that have come tome have arisen because I've kept a clear focus on what is important andwhat I want to achieve. My desire to improve the situation along with adedicated and consistent approach to my work has enabled me to make mymark on the organization and be rewarded for my efforts. I constantlyset myself goals and when achieved, I then quickly move on to newtargets. I'm constantly looking ahead to the future, trying to stayahead of the game and I've always got my eye on the prize at the end ofthe task.

6. What one thing do you think FMCG has given you (in terms of your career) that you wouldn't have had in a different sector?

The fast pace and constantly changing environment in FMCG drawsout my flexibility and problem solving abilities every day – I'm sureother sectors each have their merits, but for me working in FMCG hasallowed me to become a part of a commercial operation – rather than atraditional 'bean-counter'. I get to work with talented and creativeminds everyday – yes, it can be challenging at times but I do get a buzzout of seeing our brands on the supermarket shelf and knowing I played apart in it getting there.

7. How fast has your career moved? Do you think it's easy to progress quickly and easily in your field?

After a steady start outside of FMCG, my career has movedextremely quickly since joining RB. From day one, I've found it possibleto make suggestions and have those suggestions implemented veryquickly. This encouraged me to make further recommendations. It's aninteresting blend of skills that enables you to succeed in FMCG finance,but now as a manager overseeing the development of over 100 colleagues,it's that drive and determination to improve things that's typicallywhat I look for in a person to enable their career development.

8. What kind of person do you think will succeed in the FMCG industry? Do you think being driven and ambitious is important?

Despite what people may think about accountants, I do think thatbeing driven and ambitious is important to succeed in finance whereveryou are. On top of this, you'll also need flexibility and creativity tosucceed in FMCG, where it's not a 9-5 and 'keep your head down' workingenvironment. You've got to be persistent and be of strong character tostand up for what you believe is right for the business. As financebusiness partner, this can mean standing up to more senior colleagues,providing them with the facts and figures to make sound commercialdecisions.

9. What do you see as the biggest challenge facing FMCG in the future - for your business area and for FMCG as a whole?

For FMCG as a whole, there is a constant challenge to respond toconsumer trends. Ideally this would extend to actually driving consumertrends, but whatever we do as a business it's got to make commercialand financial sense. Finance cannot be a hidden or supporting function –we've got to have our place at the table where decisions are made fromthe outset. The reason RB is so successful is that strict financialcontrols are in place as soon as new products are conceptualized.They're intrinsic to the way we work and the challenge to FMCG is tocontinue to innovate and create exciting new products to delight ourconsumers, whilst not taking our eye off the bottom line.

10. What single thing would you say to persuade someone to consider a career in FMCG?

Fast, Meaningful, Challenging, Gratifying = FMCG!

What makes FMCG finance different from finance in other sectors(say, banking or construction)? One key difference is the lack ofcertainty about the future – there are no long term orders, what we shipin one month has generally sold through the next, and orders on handusually only represent a week or two of sales. This means it's necessaryto continually drive the organization to generate new business. This isthe reason behind the fast, urgent pace of our company. FMCG financealso offers the opportunity to expand your experience in a variety ofareas. As in every business, we need top class technical reportingexpertise to make sure our numbers add up; but we also play anincreasingly important role as business partner to our commercialcolleagues. It's up to us to make sure the brands we take to market arecost effective and provide a good return for us – and that's quite aresponsibility.

If you are interested in finding out more about a career at Reckitt Benckiser, please visit their website or read their employee blogs.