The experiencedsalesperson

Amanda Kurylowski
Winner, Best Woman Sales Capability Manager

“I’ve spent the majority of my working life in one sales function or another. As a teenager, I landed my first sales job in the BHS Christmas department and since then I’ve worked in various sales environments from high street retail to travel, and more recently in FMCG.

“My goal during the awards process was always to best represent myself and what I have achieved but also what I have learnt along the way. I am particularly passionate about building stronger teams and supporting the development of others, so I ensured that the values that are important to me – which shape how I operate at work – came through very clearly in my conversations with the judges.

“I believe there are unique challenges for women in sales and these are things such as building effective support networks within the organisation, achieving a balance between career and family priorities, and being comfortable highlighting one’s own achievements. On these points, I think that both businesses and the women within them have a responsibility to drive momentum around organisational change to support the development of women and women leaders of the future. Winning the award has given me a platform to start conversations around how we as a business can start to move the dial further on diversity in leadership and provide support for our female colleagues going forward.”

Amanda Kurylowski is Category Strategy & Insights Controller, for Pladis Global.