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Being an ally and ensuring that I&B is a key part of our supply chain people strategy is a very important part of my role.
Andrew Shaw,Supply Chain Director UK & Ireland

Andrew Shaw has spent 30 years at Nestlé, taking an unconventional career path across 12 roles and 3 markets on his way to leading the Supply Chain function.
We spoke to Andrew about how we all have biases, what he does to combat them and how Nestlé Ireland has built a culture to be proud of.

What excites you most about your role and working for Nestlé?

I'm passionate about personal development and creating an inclusive and more diverse culture. That's why my favourite part of my role is working with our people, ensuring that we have a strong development agenda and spending time talking to my colleagues in every part of our function.

Working for Nestlé is exciting because we have great people, a fascinating portfolio of categories to work with and there are always lots of opportunities to change and improve things. We're very lucky in Supply Chain because we have a huge responsibility to help the categories grow in the marketplace, but we can also influence and contribute towards our 'Force for Good' agenda.

What has been the best advice you've been given in your career? Do you have any top tips of your own for new starters?

'Be clear what you want and what you don’t want.' It's been pretty useful for me in terms of career progression.

My top tip for new starters would be to embrace all opportunities that come your way and take advantage of the breadth of experiences Nestlé can provide you.

The theme for International Women's Day 2022 is #BreakTheBias. Have you faced any biases in your career and how have you handled them?

Bias is a negative thing but we have to accept that we all have biases to some degree. Personally, I've come across biases about age and experience and an attitude that "if you want to do that role then you have to do this first".

I've tried to ignore a defined career path and focused on what I enjoy. It's worked well and as a result I've worked in lots of interesting roles, working with great people and experiencing new things.

I try to encourage people to do the same and avoid thinking about set career paths. I point to the many opportunities we have and try to help people see that there are fewer barriers than they think. I use the example of me leaving Supply Chain and going to Ireland as the BEO as an example of how you can transfer skills wherever you go.

Are you involved with any of Nestlé's inclusion and belonging initiatives?

I champion inclusion and belonging (I&B) in the supply chain. That means leading by example; getting involved in I&B team meetings, attending events and educating myself. I've also been on an industry panel talking about the great stuff we are doing at Nestlé.

I still have a lot to learn but being an ally and ensuring that I&B is a key part of our supply chain people strategy is a very important part of my role.

Is there anyone that inspires you, either personally or professionally?

I take different things from different people along the way. It may be the courage someone has shown, the empathy someone else has demonstrated, someone who has stood up for a certain cause or belief...

What has been your proudest moment at Nestlé?

I have had many great moments at Nestlé but I'm most proud of the way the Irish team transformed Nestlé Ireland over the last four years. As well as delivering great results and creating a more sustainable business, we did a huge amount with inclusion. We were accredited Silver then Gold with the Irish Centre for Diversity, built a rewarding partnership with the charity FoodCloud, and created a culture to be proud of.

What one thing would you like to see more people doing to be more inclusive?

I would like to see people being more open with each other, building better and stronger connections and being more thoughtful and considerate of others.