We recently had the privilege of interviewing Ratko Kupresak, Founder and Managing Director at Growth Guide. As a Senior Executive Ratko Kupresak, with over 25 years of FMCG experience, excels at RTM, strategic planning, and driving growth across Europe and the Middle East, delivering profitability and managing P&L.
With a proven ability to turn around situations, develop innovative solutions, and create lasting value, Ratko uses high communication and leadership skills, to develop the organization to the desired level. In this insightful session, Ratko Kupresak shares his professional journey and, the impact of consultants in developing a business’s position, and offers a glimpse of his company’s services.
The Beginning
We started the interview by asking, “Could you start by telling us about your professional career path?”
Ratko Kupresak shared, “Drawing from over 25 years of experience in decision-making processes, I have accumulated a wealth of expertise. Having worked across various regions in Europe and the Middle East, residing in countries such as UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iran, I have gained comprehensive insights not only into business practices but also into diverse cultures, human behaviors, and consumer preferences.
Having extensive experience in understanding market nuances and national specificities is crucial for business success. In my career span of 25 years, I managed large teams of up to 7000 employees for over 15 years. In my professional journey, there’s a special story I like to refer to as the ‘call of my life’. Two decades ago, I was a young manager collaborating with one of the leading Route To Market consultants of Coca-Cola on a global scale. Serving as the project leader of the company, I worked closely with the consulting team. I was admittedly quite demanding, pushing for ambitious changes beyond their initial plans.”
Ratko Kupresak added, “At one point, my approach was so intense that the consultancy company’s owner contemplated replacing me as the project leader. Thankfully, that wasn’t necessary, and we found a way to collaborate effectively. Over the next 1.5 years, our partnership evolved into a successful model for company transformation, resulting in a doubling of revenue over the subsequent five years. Even today, a decade later, the company continues to implement many of the processes we developed during that project, underscoring the lasting impact of our work.
I often emphasize the importance of doing things correctly and understanding that the fruits of our work will manifest in due time. Much like farming, where you must sow seeds and patiently await the harvest, business success follows a similar principle. By prioritizing precision and quality in our work, we pave the way for future rewards. This sentiment is frequently shared with students during my guest lectures at various universities.”
Adaptability Amidst Adversities
Challenges are a part of every business journey. To learn how Ratko Kupresak overcame all these phases, we asked, “What have been the most significant barriers you’ve overcome, and how have these challenges influenced your leadership philosophy?”
Ratko Kupresak replied, “In every business and Company, one of the most critical factors is the people’s attitude. I firmly believe that our success stems from fostering a positive company culture through great attitudes, which naturally leads to excellent results. In my opinion, one of the greatest challenges in business is identifying individuals with integrity and a positive mindset.
By finding and nurturing these individuals, we lay a solid foundation for the future of our company. Without them, success becomes nearly impossible. In today’s market, finding individuals of the right caliber for your organization is increasingly challenging and represents a piece of masterwork.”
Impactful Role Of Consultants
We further asked, “After a vast experience in a different region, you became a consultant and subject matter expert. What are the benefits for companies to use consultants for projects?”
Ratko Kupresak added, “There are several benefits for a company to use consultants for specific projects:
- Subject matter experts: Consultants offer specialized knowledge and expertise to address company challenges more effectively.
- Objectivity and fresh perspective: Consultants offer an unbiased viewpoint, promoting creativity and novel ideas for projects.
- Flexibility and scalability: Hiring consultants offers flexible resources and expertise without full-time employee commitments.
- Cost-effectiveness: Using consultants offers cost-effective access to specialized skills and expertise without long-term commitments and overhead costs. Companies benefit from saving on training expenses and can rely on consultants’ expertise. I am grateful to the Consultancy Company for their invaluable knowledge and experience in my field.
- Speed and efficiency: Experienced consultants can quickly achieve project goals and meet tight deadlines, benefiting companies with their expertise.
- Risk mitigation: Consultants guide companies in mitigating risks, identifying pitfalls, and overcoming challenges for better decision-making and avoiding mistakes.
Overall, using consultants for specific projects can help companies leverage specialized expertise, gain fresh perspectives, improve efficiency, and mitigate risks, ultimately leading to successful project outcomes and long-term business success.”
Fostering Innovative Approaches
We were curious to learn how Ratko Kupresak encourages innovative and creative culture in his team. So, we asked, “How do you foster a culture of continuous improvement and innovation within your organization?”
Ratko Kupresak shared, “Fostering a culture of continuous improvement and innovation within an organization is crucial for staying competitive and adapting to the ever-changing business landscape. Here are some things that I believe every senior manager should do if one wants to create such a culture.
Promote idea sharing and feedback within a comfortable environment. Foster open dialogue and constructive criticism for continuous improvement. Alongside, offer training and resources to develop skills and stay updated. Encouragement in taking on new challenges and learning from experiences is equally essential.
Also, recognize and celebrate innovation, implementing reward systems to encourage creativity. Remember to give employees the autonomy to make decisions and take ownership of their work. Empower and encourage them to experiment, take risks, and learn from failures.”
Ratko Kupresak added, “To empower the employees, encourage collaboration across different teams and departments to promote knowledge sharing and cross-pollination of ideas. Create opportunities for employees to work together on projects and initiatives that require diverse perspectives. Try to block silo work within the organization. As a leader, actively seek feedback, embrace change, and support new ideas to promote continuous improvement and innovation.
By implementing these strategies, organizations can create a culture that values continuous improvement and innovation, ultimately driving long-term success and growth.”
Staying Ahead Of The Curve
To learn how Ratko Kupresak ensures that his company stays ahead of the competition, we inquired, “In the context of global competition, how has your company adapted its strategies to maintain a competitive edge?”
Ratko Kupresak replied, “Besides the fact that we are partnering the consultancy industry with well-established and well-known companies in the global market, we are a small and new player in the busy industry. From one side there are big needs and business requirements, in some regions more, in some less, but definitely, the consultancy industry is growing, especially in the emerging markets. Company leaders understand the benefits of consultancy more and more and this is a great opportunity.
On the other hand, the competitive market is pushing all of us to be more efficient and more effective with our projects. I just can say for us, that as a small team, we are very flexible and what is more important, we are focusing on the operational part of the projects – how to implement all the recommended actions. That is something that big consultancy companies ‘forget’ from time to time, then we step up to play our role.”
Incorporating Client Insights
We asked, “What role has customer feedback played in shaping the direction of your products or services?”
Ratko Kupresak shared, “Consultants are working based on listening. By listening to the clients, we try to identify what are the gaps that they have and what they like to fix. This is the starting point for crafting consultancy projects, shaping frameworks, and developing action plans.
Similarly, receiving feedback from our clients, during the project or after project recommendations are delivered, is very important for our service improvement, upgrading of our scope but also, and adding new things that are raised within the industry. Staying updated with trends and new capabilities is of enormous importance for any consultancy company if you are eager to be on top of your agenda.”
Current Offerings, we asked Ratko Kupresak
Eager to learn more about Ratko Kupresak’s service range, we inquired, “Could you tell us more about your services/products and if you have any upcoming plans regarding them?
He replied, “First of all, we need to say that We are commercial experts, highly specialized in route-to-market, revenue growth management and direct-to-consumer framework. Expertise is based on the high level of experience, case studies, and operational management within Europe and the Middle East. Keeping strong collaboration between industry experts and highly ranked professors creates a unique diversity of perspectives. Our scope of work is related to the following 4 areas:
- Revenue Growth Management: We offer Consumer and shopper commercial offering & pricing, shopper path-to-purchase and channel picture-of-success, channel margin & spending, Promo and portfolio mix management, etc.
- Route-to-market: Under this range, we work on salesforce & KAM optimization, prospecting and customer development, distribution, and logistics optimization, RTM operational digitization, and market execution.
- Direct to the consumer: We look after services related to retail business, vending business, home delivery business, and new D2C brand building new D2C digital commerce.
- Sales & Operation planning: We also offer sales demand forecasts based on market data analytics, supply chain framework, and financial and top management outcomes of Sales and operation plans.
The results of our work are measurable and it’s approximately between 10-20 times in ROI vs. money invested on projects. This calculation is done through over 400 projects across the world.”
Words Of Wisdom For Beginners
Lastly, addressing the aspiring professionals, we asked, “Would you like to give beginners in the same industry some advice?”
Ratko concluded, “It is not always good to advise other people, especially when we have to talk to the younger generation. This requires a high level of seriousness along with picking the right words, but as I mentioned, that’s all about attitude. Do your things always at the max and benefits will come. Attitude added with commitment and hard (smart) work equals success. This is what I believe is the winning recipe.”
Follow Ratko Kupresak on LinkedIn.
Find Growth-Guide on LinkedIn and visit their website http://www.growth-guide.org
Also Read :-
Jassim Alampara on Revolutionizing Procurement for Startups and SME’s in the Region
Extensive Creative Solutions For Medium-sized Businesses With Teknokeys: Mohammed Al-Agbari
Empowering Leadership Skills And Impact With ImpactEmpower: Peter Kristensson
