Interested in exploring careers in the consumer products and beverage alcohol industries? Join Diageo colleagues as they share insights into the organization’s growing business and exciting future outlook, as well as reflections on their own career paths and how they’ve experienced Diageo’s commitment to its people and values.

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An evening with Diageo – Career Compass Conversations Bios

Moderator: Laura Watt, Executive Vice President, Head of HR North America

Laura joined Diageo as the Human Resources Director, Diageo Business Services in September 2017 and was appointed as the EVP for HR, North America from January 2020.  She is a member of both the North America and the Global HR Leadership teams.

Laura has 25 years of experience in Human Resources and Transformation leadership roles within CPG organizations and business consulting.

Prior to Diageo she spent 6 years with SABMiller within the Organizational Effectiveness team in the Global HR function, where she led the organizational transformation for a number of global projects, including the establishment of a world class Global Procurement organization, the creation of the largest Coca-Cola bottler in Africa and the design and implementation of a Global HR Operating Model.

Laura started her career with Accenture where she spent 15 years, commencing in Johannesburg and then transferring to London, where she became a Partner in 2008. Within Accenture she developed and implemented a variety of transformation and organizational change programs for global and regional organizations in the oil & gas, retail and utilities sectors.

Laura is South African born but left SA in 1999 and has lived in both London and Switzerland since then. She is currently relocating to New York (commuting between London and NY between Jan – June 2020 until she can permanently relocate to NY with her family from July 2020).

Panelist: Jesenia Estrella, Operations Manager, Lebanon Distillery

Jesenia is an experienced Operations Manager with a demonstrated history of working in the consumer goods industry. She joined Diageo in November 2020, as the Operations Manager of a 10M Proof gallon Bulleit Bourbon distillery located in Lebanon, KY. This state of the art facility is the 1^st carbon neutral distillery in North America. Prior to joining Diageo, she held several leadership roles within Anheuser-Busch InBev in both packaging and brewing. She graduated from the University of Florida with a B.S. in Industrial and Systems Engineering.

Panelist: Rodrigo Garcia, Global Compensation Programs Director

Rodrigo started his journey in the Rewards Team at Diageo in Miami in 2013, first covering the former West Latin America market and then Caribbean and Central America. In March 2019 he relocated to NYC to take on the role of Reward Director for Diageo North America where he implemented step-change improvements to our pay structures and raised the bar on the use of data and analytics to support our pay decisions. Most recently Rodrigo took the newly created role of Compensation Programs Director within the Global Reward Center of Excellence, bringing strategic thought leadership and a mindset of continuous improvement to the design & effectiveness of our primary compensation programs & practices.

Prior to joining the company Rodrigo led the Latin America Reward function for Xerox Corporation and Reckitt Benckiser. He first started his career in 2001 in his home country of Venezuela as an HR generalist with Cadbury Adams and in 2006 he moved to the US to join the Organizational Effectiveness team before moving into his first Total Rewards role. Rodrigo holds a bachelor’s degree in Human Resources with a concentration in Compensation & Benefits from the Universidad Catolica Andres Bello in Venezuela.

Panelist: Danielle Robinson, Head of Corporate Responsibility Director

Danielle Robinson has more than 30 years of experience in domestic and global human resources covering the consumer goods, beverage, entertainment and pharmaceutical industries.  Danielle is currently Head of Corporate Responsibility Director, and Partnerships as well as community engagement. She is also Director of the North America Learning Skills for Life Program, a global educational training program delivered in local communities to provide hospitality skills to the underemployed. Formerly, she was Director of Alcohol Policy and Reputation Management where she led all Responsible Drinking Programs and prior to that, the Director, Diversity and Early Career at Diageo. She lectures across the United States at conferences and universities on Diversity and Inclusion management within Corporations.

Prior to Diageo, Danielle worked for Unilever, Schering-Plough Pharmaceuticals, and Simon & Schuster where she had responsibility for domestic and international human resources encompassing diversity management, recruitment, training and development, employee relations, compensation and succession planning. 

Danielle has an undergraduate degree in Communication from Rutgers University and a master’s degree in Corporate Communication from Seton Hall University.  She also has a Doctorate degree in Public Administration from Warren National University and holds a WSET Level 1 Wines Certification. 

Panelist: Vladimir Sosa, Senior Manager, Commercial Innovation North America

Vladimir is a business leader dedicated to setting brands and businesses up for long term, sustainable growth with strong CPG multi-national experience in commercial strategy, customer marketing, brand building, activation, and sales.

Vladimir joined DIAGEO in 2014 and has spent this time in various positions in North America and the Caribbean. In his current role, he leads and influences cross-functional collaborators to develop commercially viable innovations for DIAGEO Spirits and Beer Companies.

Vladimir’s drive to create new business opportunities paired with his multicultural background have resulted in award-winning programs and commercial strategies that helped deliver long term value. Recently, he led the re-launch strategy of Old Parr Scotch Whisky, a Latin American favorite with great potential in the U.S., accelerating its growth rate 3x in less than a year.

Prior to joining DIAGEO, Vladimir worked for international powerhouses like British American Tobacco, Casa Brugal and Distribuidora Corripio (Procter & Gamble).

Vladimir loves discovering new places, food, and music, and enjoys open-air activities, especially if there’s a beach nearby. He’s originally from the Dominican Republic and currently lives in New York with his wife and dog.