01:24
Brenda Smith Highlight
That’s a part of the journey—trying to figure out what things actually make you happy and work with your whole life.
About Brenda
- I grew up in Louisiana—I was an only child and spent a lot of time with my father and uncles tinkering with things and figuring out how they operate.
- I graduated from Southern University with a degree in mechanical engineering.
- I started my career as an engineer for an oil company that I had previously completed an internship with while in college.
- After a few years, I went to graduate school and earned my MBA in finance and operations management from Tulane University.
- I transitioned into the finance industry and took a job as a financial analysis manager for American Airlines—I found that I really enjoyed operations, project management, and commercialization.
- I got the opportunity to join Coca-Cola in a management rotation program, through which I got to experience many different parts of the business.
- When I eventually landed a project management role in innovation, my career really took off and I started to move upwards in the company.
- I have since spent over 20 years with Coca-Cola and currently work as the Vice President of Category Commercialization.