People: One of the Best Strategies for a Beverage Bottler Giant
by: Bill Sarno
Jean Claude Tissot- President, Coca-Cola Southw4est Beverages/Arca Continental
By all accounts, the kick-off of 2020 was going to be one of monumental importance and excitement for Jean Claude Tissot. Newly appointed as the President of Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages (CCSWB), a division of Mexico-based Arca Continental, Jean Claude was eager to begin his tenure with clear strategies in mind. However, we all know that the unexpected came to pass with the shutdowns of COVID-19 in early 2020. CCSWB - one of the nation's largest bottlers delivering its products throughout Texas, and parts of Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Arkansas - would be operating as an essential business during a crucial time for its customers. These customers included grocery and convenience stores, as well as working with restaurants of all sizes as they transitioned their operations. The processes of bottling, distributing, and moving beloved Coca-Cola brands of soft drinks, sports drinks and bottled water had to stay on pace, despite the tremendous change in the landscape.
"Everything is about people,” Tissot says. “Providing employees with the tools and the security they need while helping navigate challenges is a priority. At the same time, we also must stay in tune with the needs of our customers, understanding their challenges to be a true servant leader for what impacts their business.”
As a longtime beverage industry executive with more than two decades of experience, Jean Claude describes an emphasis on being solution-focused as a key element of his management style. This comes from his career devotion to building a company culture of appreciation for its employees as well as a focus on team and customer support, sustainability, technological advances, and community commitment. Certainly, Tissot’s journey to CCSWB has helped to solidify his approach.
The Journey
Tissot started work as a merchandiser and sales representative in 1993 for Warner-Lambert where he gained experience in employee engagement and a true culture of gratefulness, he notes. By 1998, he had the opportunity to work for Coca-Cola Co. in several countries. He said that these jobs helped him prepare to connect with consumers in the United States, especially the large Hispanic population in Texas.
His oversight as Coca-Cola’s internal representation of the merger forming Arca Continental in 2011 influenced his streamlined approach to transitions into Peru and the United States. It is important to note Arca Continental’s presence includes more than 118 million consumers in Mexico, South America, and the Southwestern U.S. (The company also produces and markets snacks under the brand names of Wise in the U.S and Bokados in Mexico.)
Even before Jean Claude’s tenure at CCSWB began, the Arca Continental brand name was well-established in Texas. Its Topo Chico brand, the company's sparkling mineral water sourced and bottled in Monterrey, Mexico since 1895, holds almost cult status in the state.
Fluent in French, Spanish, and English, Jean Claude embraced product and franchise management positions within the company in Colombia, Honduras, El Salvador, and Mexico. It was through these leadership positions that Jean Claude honed a devotion to cultivating a corporate culture of appreciation, which ensures employees understand the “why” behind business decisions, and that they can approach leadership and be heard.
Subsequently, Arca Continental invited Jean Claude to be its chief marketing officer.
"In that role, I worked with our team to implement a commercial business model that we call the ‘ACT model’ to help us drive efficiency, accelerate technological advances and build collaboration,” he said.
After Arca Continental acquired the territory that was to become CCSWB in 2017, Jean Claude worked as an executive with the new entity before being appointed president. Jean Claude notes that as CCSWB’s president, the most important part of his role has been taking Arca Continental’s strategy that was successful in Mexico and applying it appropriately in Texas.
Over the years, Jean Claude has seen how important the cross integration from both regions is, as well as how the cultures of Texas and Mexico make each region unique. For a company to operate successfully in the United States, Jean Claude said, “it needs a culture of integration and diversity, as well as a culture of change and innovation. A culture that is about prosperity and its focus on resources."
When it comes to business, he believes this makes all the difference. Jean Claude notes that he feels blessed and thankful to operate in the United States, and the past five years have been extremely successful in delivering top-line and bottom-line results.
Jean Claude’s leadership comes from years of experience and overcoming challenges with confidence and creativity. His attitude was greatly influenced by his father who endured being a young teen in France during World War II. After the war, his father would grow up and share his perspective with Jean Claude, teaching him that “life will bring challenges, but you have to be a problem solver."
During his career in marketing and business management, Jean Claude's problem-solving acumen has provided not only an opportunity for personal career growth but also to develop the talent of his colleagues. “As a team, you are always going to face challenges and problems," Jean Claude said, “but what counts is how you solve them.”
Today, Jean Claude will tell you that his favorite day of the week is Wednesday. That is when the company conducts its Market Investment Days.
"We are not in the office but visit production facilities, warehouses, and other aspects of the business, listening to customer and employee concerns, what they need and their ideas," said Tissot.