Our consumers are diverse and our employees are too: One of our values is to be “open and inclusive” and we strive to live by that every day in the organisation.”

Louise Stigant

Managing Director, UK, Mondelēz International

Can you tell us a bit about your company and your role?

Mondelēz International is Europe’s number one chocolate maker and number one baker of biscuits. We operate in over 45 countries in Europe, represented by brands like Cadbury Dairy Milk, Oreo, LU, Milka, Cote d’Or, Toblerone, and Daim. The United Kingdom is one of our biggest markets in the world, and I have led the team there since May. I joined Mondelēz International when it was called Kraft in 1994 and have worked across many sales roles in the UK and in Ireland.

Can you tell us a bit about your company and your role?

Mondelēz International is Europe’s number one chocolate maker and number one baker of biscuits. We operate in over 45 countries in Europe, represented by brands like Cadbury Dairy Milk, Oreo, LU, Milka, Cote d’Or, Toblerone, and Daim. The United Kingdom is one of our biggest markets in the world, and I have led the team there since May. I joined Mondelēz International when it was called Kraft in 1994 and have worked across many sales roles in the UK and in Ireland.

Why is diversity, and specifically the advancement of women, so important to your organization?

Our consumers are diverse and our employees are too: One of our values is to be “open and inclusive” and we strive to live by that every day in the organisation. We’re committed to creating a workplace where everyone can be themselves and where everyone’s differences are valued. And we really believe that a workplace that is diverse will ultimately benefit our business by driving higher performance and innovation in service of the consumer. Representation of women at senior levels in our organisation is essential in bringing this culture of diversity to life, to creating a culture that is rich in innovation and strong in performance, and a culture which has multiple role models for future leaders to follow.

Which diversity initiatives do you have in your organization?

We have a broad programme of D&I activities and initiatives at Mondelēz International, balancing both the short and the long-term needs of the organisation and our employees. Our initial focus is on advancing senior female leaders across the organisation, enabled by a contemporary parental leave policy and updated approaches to flexible working. Beyond that we are embedding an understanding of unconscious bias in our leadership community, encouraging them to be more self-aware and therefore more inclusive in their leadership style. All of this is complemented by many local and regional initiatives such as panel events, external speaker programmes, mentoring and more.

What role does LEAD Network play in reaching your organization’s diversity goals?

We know that we can learn a lot from other organisations and their leaders, and the LEAD Network offers us a wonderful opportunity to connect, to share and to inspire ourselves and others for the D&I journey at Mondelēz International.

What would you like your employees to take away from the LEAD Network?

LEAD features many case studies of successful D&I initiatives and many great role models of senior female leaders in positions of responsibility and accountability in large European organisations. I would love for my colleagues – men and women – to be inspired to commit to advancing the careers of more women in organisation, particularly in sales and commercial roles.