This month’s Member Spotlight
Sara Oliva
April 2018
Data & Analytics Assoc Manager, Spain PepsiCo
Why are you passionate about the mission of the LEAD Network?
I have been with PepsiCo for five years and in the CPG industry for more than twelve years. I have developed my career mainly within the Data & Analytics space in Europe, US and Africa, which has given me the opportunity to learn as a professional and a person of the richness that a diverse working environment offers. This is why I am joining as Chair of the Spain Chapter Committee. I feel very inspired by the initiatives that drive diversity and inclusion and I want to be part of the change. For me diversity is key to success and I love the idea of coming together within the industry to move it forward.
Tell us about an adversity you worked to overcome?
Through my career I had to “reinvent” myself a couple of times. The one that impacted me the most was when the team that I was leading was completely outsourced. Suddenly, the one thing that I was good at was no longer an option. But this brought an opportunity to get out of my comfort zone, learn how to be flexible and adapt to change. The environment where we live is in constant change and being able to adapt to it is one of my main features now.
Is there one person you could attribute a big piece of your success to?
My mother was part of a generation of women who had very little prospect in life. She was a full-time house wife who, even though she showed capacities to continue her studies further, was not given the opportunity because she was not a man. Mother of two daughters she always encouraged me to stand on my two feet and become an independent woman above anything else, and I can say that I have always lived by that principle.
