PROFILE
Inspiring others
Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other
time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that
we seek” - Barack Obama.
Name: Shoneez Williams
Designation: Retail Environment
Manager
Company: Colgate Palmolive SA
Education & Work Life:
I graduated in 2010 from the University of
Johannesburg with a BCom Honours
degree in Marketing Management. I then
joined the graduate programme at
Colgate Palmolive; which provided me
with the perfect platform to start my
career as it gave me the opportunity to
understand how different functions within
the organisation work together to ensure
overall business success. I was
permanently appointed in 2011 as an
Assistant Category Development
Manager. It was at this stage of my career
when I gained in-depth understanding of
the pharmacy environment and developed
strategies to proactively respond to
shoppers, consumers and customers. In
2012 I was promoted as the Junior Retail
Environment Manager of the Pharmacy
Channel and then promoted in 2013 as the
Retail Environment Manager.
Q
A
Q
A
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Sophiatown a suburb
situated in Johannesburg.
What inspired you as a child? What
did you dream of?
As a child I dreamt of becoming
Miss South Africa, but as I grew up I
discovered my true passion and decided
“
I still share a
dream of
inspiring people
and developing
my leadership
skills in every
aspect of life
”
12 | NOVEMBER 2013 frontShop
to pursue a career in
commerce. However,
similar to Miss South
Africa, I still share a
dream of inspiring
people and developing
my leadership skills in
every aspect of life.
PROFI
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Q
A
What does your
job entail on a
daily basis?
As a retail
environment
manager I specialise in
Customer Marketing.
My job entails the
essence of marketing
focusing on aspects
such as product
assortment, pricing,
point of sale and
promotions. The
pharmacy environment
is so unique it allows
me to have a differentiated approach and
focus on very specific strategies that have
a tremendous impact on the pharmacy
environment.
Q
A
What part of your job do you love
the most?
I love working with agencies coming
up with new concepts, activations,
developing point of sale material and
detailing clinically information to
Pharmacist and front shop assistants.
Q
A
You are very passionate about
your products. What drives your
passion?
I believe you should be passionate
about the things you love doing and
I love the work that I do therefore the
passion comes automatically.
Q
A
What is something most people
don’t know about you?
I am the first person in my family to
have gone to university and
graduate with a degree.
Q
A
What is your dream?
My life dream is to travel around
the world and see different
countries, learn about different people,
their beliefs and cultures.
Q
A
Who has inspired you and why?
My parents are without a doubt
my inspiration in life they have
taught me so many things and have
made me who I am today for that I will
forever be grateful for.
Q
A
What advice would you give to
front shop assistants and
pharmacy assistants?
“Change will not come if we wait
for some other person or some
other time. We are the ones we’ve been
waiting for. We are the change that we
seek” - Barack Obama. If there is
anything you want to achieve in life it
starts with you, and believing in yourself
is the first step.
E