Kathleen Hickes is the territory sales manager at Keurig Dr Pepper for all of Westchester, County, the Bronx, and Upper Manhattan.
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By Anna Segota, Staff Writer
Former Manhattan College rowing coach Kathleen Hickes, territory sales manager at Keurig Dr Pepper Inc., gave a talk to Manhattan College business students about navigating life after college and being a woman in business.
Hickes’ presentation went through her career in the beverage industry, covering advice she wanted to share with young professionals and how her unconventional route to where she is now ultimately helped her succeed.
Hickes is a graduate of Bucknell University, with degrees in international relations and Spanish and a minor in economics.
Hickes never initially planned to enter the beverage industry, but after college she found herself employed as a pre-sales account manager for PepsiCo, doing what she described as “grunt work.”
After starting at PepsiCo, she continued in the industry, moving on to work for the Coca-Cola company. Hickes has worked for many big-name brands, such as Kraft Heinz, before finally landing at Keurig Dr Pepper.
Since Hickes did not originally get her degree in business, she worked up the ranks, starting with blue-collar jobs, before entering into management and administrative positions.
Hickes was able to offer a different perspective on how to navigate climbing the ranks because of her unique experiences and her background as a woman in the industry.
“It gave me more credibility coming into my first role, I don’t think my branch had seen a female in management before, my direct reports are all older than I am,” Hickes said. “It’s nice to be able to look at what’s happening in stores and have an accurate picture versus just pushing priorities on them.”
Students resonated with what Hickes spoke about and were able to see different aspects of the business world and the beverage industry represented in her journey.
“I liked the speaker because it was the first speaker I’ve ever heard who wasn’t starting out in the business industry,” senior finance major Morgan Schuyler said. “It was really cool to see that there really are opportunities for anyone.”
Hickes went over what she thought were the most important attributes to have as a woman in business, including being an advocate for yourself, having a growth mindset and learning how to golf.
Hickes currently manages sales for all of Westchester County, the Bronx and Upper Manhattan.
Hickes was able to speak to students about working in her current position, which includes advertisement campaigns with marketing and securing deals. S
She spoke about the different types of questions that come up in her line of work and how to adequately deal with them.
“If you’re looking to be in sales or marketing like me, know the basics,” Hickes said. “Know your ‘P&Ls’ (profit loss statement), and know your competition. If you’re planning on going to Coke, know what Pepsi’s doing, if you’re planning on going to Pepsi, know what Coke is doing.”
While the focus of Hickes’ presentation was on women in business, an array of students from across the O’Malley School of Business came out to hear her speak.
“I think I liked the speaker a lot because I haven’t heard a lot of different perspectives on what it’s like to work in a sales department, especially the beverage side of it,” senior marketing major Madeline Addington said. “Seeing all her different perspectives and the ‘grunt’ part of the job in the beverage industry was interesting.”
Hickes gave her ideal advice to event-goers, so they could walk out with ideas for their future goals. She ended the presentation by talking with students about their interest in the beverage industry.
“Always be willing to volunteer to help out at work,” Hickes said. “Always be volunteering to join a new committee, [and] always jump at new leadership opportunities.”