UON Students get a taste of success from Coca-Cola Global Director

Dr Majed Yaghi, Senior Global Director at Coca-Cola, joined MSc International Marketing Strategy students at the University of Northampton for a guest lecture.

In the session looking at global marketing, Dr Majed Yaghi outlined the competencies and skills required to be successful in any career. His top tips, which have seen his career develop with one of the world’s leading brands, are the importance of breaking issues down, not being afraid to fail, focusing on the tasks that have the most value, honing negotiating skills and building trust.

International Marketing Strategy student, Antonio Narducci, said: “It was a really interesting session with Majed today. He gave us some really inspiring insights about hard skills and soft skills that are so valuable in any business.

“Particularly, I was impressed by the relevance of trust as a soft skill and how corporate performance is driven massively by ethical attributes. The tips about self-analysis were also very valuable. I’m sure it will be a point of reflection for many students who attended the session, and it will help us to deeply understand our weaknesses and make us aware of them.”

Jason Vaughan, Senior Lecturer in International Marketing Strategy, said: “It was so useful to be able to hear from somebody who is at the very top of the sector, to find out their perspective on the industry, and especially the interpersonal skills that big brands place high on the agenda when recruiting talented people. These insights will be valuable to our students thinking about graduate jobs.

“Insights from industry leaders like this is a key part of the programme here at Northampton, this not only broadens their study but also opens up their ideas about where and what they can do and what a difference they can make.

Majed Yaghi, is a Senior International Executive for the company based in the USA and has also worked with brands Gillette and Kimberly-Clark, also spent time answering a diverse range of questions from students, sharing insights and inspiration for their future careers.