Her Story
About Courtney
I've been with Red Bull for 10 years, and it's been an incredible journey. I started by doing ambassador work for Red Bull through our distributor, and I've climbed the ladder to reach my current regional sales position, which I've held for the past 4 years. Now I manage the sales team for the entire state of Georgia, with 8 direct reports who each handle about 350 accounts. Our mission is to expand Red Bull's presence, gain new business, and increase volume both quarterly and year over year. Before joining Red Bull, I graduated from the University of Georgia in 2011 with a Bachelor's in Science Education. I taught for one year before transitioning into managing restaurants and bars, which is where my Red Bull journey began. One of my most notable professional achievements has been helping several team members under me advance in their careers and get positions similar to mine in different areas of the country. Guiding people to achieve their professional goals within Red Bull and seeing them obtain promotions is something I'm incredibly proud of. Outside of work, I'm passionate about traveling internationally with a goal to visit every continent on this planet eventually. I'm also a DJ and perform online, as I'm a very big lover of music.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Courtney
01What do you attribute your success to?
I would say my internal drive is very strong. But also seeing so many other women around me professionally that are able to put their mind to something and accomplish things and never give up themselves keeps me going. It's me wanting to do the same. Watching other women succeed and persist inspires me to push forward and achieve my own goals.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
I've had quite a bit of good leadership in my past, and I would say the best advice I've ever received was to never give up. Fight for what you think is right, to fight for others, to fight for the brand. Just not giving up and being a fighter, not always accepting the answer no. That advice has shaped how I approach challenges and advocate for what matters.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say to network and lean on each other. Historically, sometimes women can see each other as competition, but if we are together, if we're working together and we're supporting other women, we truly are a force that can be felt and seen and appreciated. So I would say connecting with other influential professional women and being a big supporter and advocate of women for yourself is crucial. We're stronger together than apart.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
There's been a wave of competition in the energy category, definitely more of an increase in the past 5 years. Everybody's trying to make an energy drink and trying to do what Red Bull has done for all this time. There are some energy drinks in the category now that are absolutely false advertising, leaning more towards claiming they are a healthier choice and better for you. The biggest challenges for us right now is just competing with those claims and backing in our global truths that we are actually more healthy for people than they think. It's spreading that knowledge and having to compete with this wave of brands like Celsius and Alani Nu. They came to market with a marketing strategy claiming they are a healthy choice, but they are actually no different from us and have some components within them that aren't actually considered more healthy.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I would say seeing meaning in my work and my presence is most important to me. When you're doing something exciting and you're putting all of these efforts in, being able to see that you're making an impact, you are making a change, gives you value. That makes me feel valuable as an employee and a person. Knowing that my work has purpose and creates real change is what drives me.
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