Close-up on EHL Alliance ambassadors is a new series that shows what type of opportunities being an EHL Alliance ambassador can open up to students/future students at EHL. For this first feature, we interviewed Francesca Dimina and Charles Carpentier, who gave us interesting answers about their journey as EHL Alliance Ambassadors for Coca-Cola HBC Switzerland.
1. Why did you choose to become an EHL Alliance ambassador (your motivation)?
We chose to become EHL Alliance Ambassadors throughout last autumn semester. Since the beginning of our Bosc Program, we have always been fascinated by Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) companies. These companies sell products quickly at relatively low prices, such as food and beverage products, toiletries, cosmetics, and other consumables. Such companies include P&G, Nestlé but also Coca-Cola, or Unilever. Professors at EHL often use real-life examples of these companies to illustrate their concepts and relate them to the real markets. After studying Coca-Cola and other similar companies for a long time, we saw the offer to work for Coca-Cola HBC, one of the companies we always admired the most. We both decided to apply to the selection process to work for this firm.
Throughout Autumn 2020, we got more familiar with the EHL Alliance program. This recent initiative of the EHL Alliance Ambassadorship allows students to work side-by-side with a company and its representative, help them throughout their projects, create events on campus, and meet their team by building our new network. This is a unique opportunity for students to meet industry experts and start a career by tasting an EHL student's life working in great and inspiring companies. We strongly encourage students to take part in this initiative.
Francesca Dimina and Charles Carpentier, EHL Alliance Ambassadors for Coca-Cola HBC Switzerland.
2. Tell us more about the company you’re representing.
Coca-Cola is one of the best firms to represent FMCG on an international scale. Its dynamism, energy, and innovation opened us EHL Alliance Ambassadors to a new world, full of opportunities and devoted people. We work for a firm that has a strong respect for the environment and its employees, and has the vision and power to create a great impact in the F&B market by aiming to have a 24/7 portfolio. Coca-Cola HBC currently offers consumers leading brands from juice, water, and coffee to energy drinks and spirits to consume Coca-Cola products for any daily activity.
3. What are the benefits of being an EHL Alliance ambassador?
Being an EHL Ambassador has many perks. Besides being associated with the image of a globally known F&B company, it enables us to be involved in various projects allowing us to have a real-life working experience early on. As ambassadors, we need to ensure proper brand visibility among the study body, which gives us the chance to interact with our Coca-Cola HBC colleagues about the initiative and new concepts emerging. Additionally, being close to the company part of the EHL Alliance Program helps us broaden our network and evolve professionally and personally.
4. Can you share with us a typical EHL Alliance ambassador day?
A typical EHL Alliance Ambassador day usually starts with a meeting between Ambassadors. Together, we plan on what is coming up, making sure objectives and deadlines are being met. We are also in daily communication with our EHL Alliance Leadership Team, which helps us assure that what we want to plan is feasible according to all regulations. We meet with the Coca-Cola HBC team weekly or bi-weekly to continuously seek new opportunities to strengthen its visibility and awareness on and off-campus.
