Bacardi Martini Polska is certified “Great Place to Work” for second time

Questions: to Katya Chmykhova – Managing Director CEEBB

WBJ: The Bacardi-Martini Group has its headquarters for the CEEBB region in Warsaw – what made you choose Poland?

We launched the CEEBB region from Warsaw four years ago, focusing on 18 Central Europe, Baltic, and Balkan markets. Since then, our top talents have rolled out Polish best practices across all of these markets, contributing to business growth. We employ 150 Primos from nine countries, some of them have been with Bacardi for over 30 years.

What kind of investments has the company realized in the Polish market?

The Bacardi company invests in Poland and contributes to the development of the local economy by creating new jobs and growing our local team. Most recently, we have opened a shared service center in Warsaw, supporting the whole of Europe in IT, HR, and finance. Our Business Enterprise Services  support processes and interactions with clients, thanks to which it increases the effectiveness and efficiency of the company's daily operations and the achievement of business priorities supporting the BEST10 strategy.

What have been the company’s most significant achievements under your leadership?

Since 2017, our business in Poland has doubled thanks to key strategic changes, placing clear bets, and building the engagement of our employees.

Our employee engagement has grown significantly to 85%. Moreover, Bacardi now attracts top-tier talent that enjoys developing the business in all 18 CEEBB markets. For the second year, we have been certified as a “Great Place to Work.” This is a clear proof of our team’s engagement.

Thanks to this amazing team and the activation of all of our brands, we have been growing in Poland. I must also emphasize that our brands are legends—they are all iconic. Their great heritage and outstanding quality strongly appeal to today's young adult consumers. Our portfolio is well balanced, and Martini is already the fifth most popular alcohol brand in the country, following a surge in growth thanks to the Martini Fiero launch. The foundation is also being laid to increase our success in whisky and rum. Bacardi digital, an experiential 360-degree campaign, “Do What Moves You,” and strong activation of the Dewars brand are setting us up for our next successes. We are also seeking to boost our appeal with premium consumers by focusing on Bombay Sapphire and Patron tequila. As a company, we have solid fundamentals to grow, and doubling our business yet again is a realistic goal.

What is the company's current share of the Polish alcohol market, and what are your plans for the future?

We lead in all the key categories we are engaged in: aperitifs, sparkling wines, and rum. Martini is among the top five international premium alcohol brands, along with other premium spirits—whisky and vodka. We want to be among the top three premium spirits companies by 2030 by growing our brands further and winning consumers’ hearts by increasing our engagement with them.

There is a saying – Impossible is nothing! We have already managed to double the business in the last five years. So why not double it again over the next five? We possess all the fundamentals needed to grow, and with the assistance of our outstanding team, we are well-equipped for the future. We appreciate our people for who they are, and we embrace all the differences they represent. It is important that they are engaged and a part of the Bacardi family. We encourage them to feel a sense of ownership in the company’s success. We are the largest family-owned spirits company in the world. At the same time, we are obsessed with development and clear career planning. We stick to our strategic choices. We are all about commercial excellence – we know where to engage and how to capture opportunities by developing channels with clearly identified growth drivers. 

Meet  Aleksandra Paramuszczak – HR director CEEBB 

WBJ: Katya talked about your certification as a “Great Place to Work,” what key qualities make your organization a great place to work? How do you create this unique environment – and why do you do it?

We are very happy that Bacardi Martini Polska was selected as a “Great Place to Work.” The award of this prestigious title was based on the result of an employee survey, which consists of an index of trust in the company and the result of an external cultural audit. As it turned out, the satisfaction rate of our employees (called Primos in the company - the Spanish word for cousins) reaches as much as 85%. 

At Bacardi Martini Polska, we appreciate every employee  for who they are, what they do, and who they can become. We live and breathe togetherness while cherishing the uniqueness of each of us and appreciating the diversity of our backgrounds, experiences, and ideas. We also embrace each other’s differences and celebrate the varied perspectives that mirror the rich diversity of our global community.

We demonstrate living our 3F cultural pillars (being Fearless, having a Founder’s mentality, and treating each other like Family).

Being Fearless  is  having the courage to do the right thing. This means adopting a flexible mindset as well as a willingness to take risks. Everyone has the right to ask questions, challenge accepted solutions and introduce innovations in the company and ways of working.

Being Family  means  all employees and the community are treated as family. Always. Belonging to the Bacardi family gives Primos the support they need to become the best version of themselves. We act as one team, keep our promises and remain humble in action.

Being Founders – the spirit of the founders and entrepreneurship is at the heart of everything the company does, and employees are encouraged to make decisions with the same mindset as the company's founders. On top to our key values, we always add a fourth: Fun! Because, according to Bacardi, fun is present both in the work of the team and in the lives of consumers of the company's products.

We also believe that great people can do extraordinary things. That's why Primos are given development opportunities, whether they want to learn new skills, become managers, or try their hand at work in another country, Bacardi offers a wide range of programs to help them.

The Great Place to Work® certificate is a confirmation of a high level of work culture, and is awarded on the basis of international standards.  This is the best recommendation for potential candidates both in terms of providing space for development and the foundations of a sense of security. We want to maintain it, because in the next few years we will significantly develop Bacardi's structures in Poland.