An unlikely role for someone who trained in the Performing Arts, Katie Billington is Nestlé ESAR’s Supply Chain Director and for her,
Katie is a breath of fresh air and emanates vitality, despite a busy job, settling into a different country (she’s originally from the UK and has been in South Africa for six months at the time of the interview) and raising a two-year old little girl who she’s currently teaching how to cook. “I don’t know if I’m enjoying that yet!” she says, with a wry smile.
Katie has the special brand of infectious energy it takes to lead people in what can often be challenging circumstances. She explains, “Supply Chain tends to be an area where we fix a lot of problems and it’s also an area of the business where people aren’t always used to talking about their successes. One of the things I love about my job is helping people to see where they’re going and to feel proud of where they’ve come from when we get there together.”
Katie puts a fresh spin on her role not only as a woman, but also as a creative musician. Her advice is simple: “If you are really true to yourself and you believe in the things that make you stronger, you can do anything. Don’t try and be someone that you’re not because that’s what you think the job requires.”
She explains, “There’s a lot to love in my job. I get to do different things every day, but what makes me love this job more than any other is that to do it well, I need to spend a lot of time connecting with people.
“I’m fortunate that the function I’m responsible for touches a lot of people and relies heavily on relationships and I really enjoy that. I’ve spent this week in a factory, with a customer, in our Distribution Centre in Cape Town and traveling in between. I’ve been meeting different people and getting different perspectives which enable me to really understand what’s happening.”
It's also her genuine curiosity and desire to get to grips with the nitty gritty reality, roll up her sleeves and get stuck in that sets Katie apart. This, coupled with her love of people makes her a force to be reckoned with.
She has three major priorities that she plans to focus on this year at Nestlé. The first is availability – she is clear that the team will be focused on improving customer service and ensuring availability of Nestlé products.
The second is reducing waste. As part of operations, Supply Chain has a unique opportunity to reduce waste not only in terms of money, but also in terms of process and time.
Her eyes light up as she describes her third priority: “If we do what we’re aiming to do in the first two areas – improve customer service and reduce waste – then we’ll have a lot to be proud of and I want to make sure that we take the time to recognise our achievements. I also want to use this opportunity to build capability to help people develop in the direction that they want to and realise their full potential.”
Katie’s biggest achievement professionally is the role she’s in today at Nestlé. She explains, “I got into Supply Chain by accident. When I joined Nestlé as a Graduate Trainee in 2005, I wanted to be on the Supply Chain leadership team.
“If I was really honest with myself, I wanted to be the Head of Supply Chain but I didn’t really think it was possible. This was my dream job. I couldn’t be more excited to be in this job and I feel very lucky to be in this job, in this region because I’m learning every day – it’s really motivating.”
She attributes her success to leaning into her Nestlé network: “I never have to do anything by myself because whenever I’ve got a problem or a decision I need to make or something I want to do and I’m not quite sure how to tackle it, I’ve got the autonomy to make decisions, but there’s a whole world of Nestlé people around me who I can reach out to and ask for help.”