Her Story
About Anna
Anna Madden is a professional in the alcoholic beverage consumer packaged goods industry. She has been working in sales, marketing, and the category side since completing her master's program at Saint Louis University in 2023, totaling about three years of experience. Anna began her career as a brand ambassador at Switch Marketing right out of college before joining Anheuser-Busch, where she has advanced through category and sales and marketing roles. She now manages two brands across 12 states, with responsibilities that include aligning national strategies to local markets, developing retailer relationships, and executing 360-degree activation programs. Based in St. Louis, Missouri, Anna attributes her success to her passion for the brands and the cumulative knowledge gained from each role.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Anna
01What do you attribute your success to?
I would just say, just my love of the brands that I work with. I truly live the lifestyle every day of these brands, and I really enjoy working with them. I would probably attribute my success just to trying to pick up little pieces of information along the way, and kind of saving them for later. Like I started off as a brand ambassador, and even though you're just cutting there and selling, like, not even really selling alcohol, just sampling alcohol, you know, you can work on those pitches then in just the ground level with consumers, which was really valuable. I think just taking little bits and pieces from every role I had, and carrying that with me, and collecting it in my suitcase of tools and knowledge has just really helped me get where I am today.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
I would say just, just, you know, jump in with both feet, even if you don't if you're not 100% sure what you're doing, just, you know, as much effort as you can into it, and really give it all you got, and you'll figure it out eventually.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would just say, you know, you might not know what you want to do, but pick something that you're halfway decent at, and that you're interested in somewhat, and go for it. That's what a mentor told me one time, and I really took that information to heart, you know, you have to find something that you're interested in a little bit, and then something that you're just a little bit good at, a little bit of a knack for, and you can develop those skills and that love of them from there. So, that's what I would tell young women, is just make sure you learn that.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I think always in CPG, just in general, and not even talking about the alphab industry, is just kind of the state of the economy, and the rising cost to consumers to consume goods. Whenever, with the rising prices for consumer goods, there's always a challenge, you know, to meet those needs of the consumer. But, you know, obviously, consumers are definitely challenged right now, and that's always a challenge that we try to tackle.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Probably family's really important, so live very close family, they're all from here, and my husband's family's also from here. So, always see those guys. Family, you know, is number one, and then, I think just, you know, excellence every day of what I do, I strive for excellence. So, I would say family and excellence. And then, just putting your nose to the pavement, and doing all that you can do, and really, being the best you can be.
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