Sixty percent of the Lipton Teas and Infusions products sold in Australia are packed in Dubai, when the recent global unrest in the region closed the port, Robby Lowrey and his team worked with factory and logistic partners to reroute stock overland through Oman and Saudi Arabia so the tea still reached Australian shelves. For the General Manager of Lipton Teas and Infusions “it’s never a dull day” he says.
A long way from his home in Tennessee, young high school graduate Robby attended Adventist schools from K – 12 and had never left the country until a recruiter from Avondale University visited his high school in the early 2000’s - Inspired by the idea of studying abroad and encouraged by the favourable exchange rate Robby and a group of friends decided to come to Avondale for a year.
See the full podcast below:
Like many students, he was not sure exactly where he was headed, but under strict time and money constraints, Robby thought a business degree would serve as a good foundation and offer flexibility for the future.
Two Avondale lecturers Robby remembers fondly, Dr Norm Carlsen whose Economics class left a lasting impression thanks to his unconventional way of analysing the Australian federal budget announcements and Don Dickens marketing class. “They had a deep passion for their subjects and students” Robby says, “and really went above and beyond for anyone keen to learn.”
In his final year, Robby was offered a scholarship and internship with Sanitarium in the marketing department. He was able to quickly establish what later became a full-time role which influenced his decision to stay longer in Australia. Robby also met his wife, Tennille, at Avondale which was a driving force to permanently stay in Australia after graduating.
Over the years at Sanitarium he had the opportunity to move through different positions, deliberately building breadth of experience rather than racing up the hierarchy. “I’ve always focused more on making sure that I was in a position where I was challenged and growing, rather than having a specific path in mind,” he says. “A role you aspire to may not even exist or may look substantially different by the time you get there.” Ultimately, he found the best strategy was to get comfortable working outside his comfort zone, learn, grow continuously and the opportunities will naturally come his way.
When asked to name his mentors, instead of focusing on individuals, Robby chose to observe skills and adopted behaviours that he believed made a good leader.
When he eventually left Sanitarium for a secular company, the move forced him to revisit his purpose. “For a lot of my career, I worked for Sanitarium, so it was easy to link my purpose with the good work done by the church.” Robby says.
Outside the setting he returned to the bible verse where Jesus calls us to be a light to the world. Matthew 5. “I’ve found my career has given me an enormous opportunity to shine light to people and situations that otherwise would never encounter a church,” In environments where things often go wrong or where the easier choice is the wrong one, leaders that can navigate difficulty and act with integrity stand out very brightly.
Today he leads the ANZ market for the world’s largest tea company, overseeing a portfolio of globally recognised brands. He has significant autonomy to deliver the results and grow the value of the business with his team.
That approach shapes how he leads today. He sees curiosity, imagination and excellence in execution as essentials. Curiosity about the business, products, customers and trends. Imagination to see a future where a problem is solved or an opportunity is taken. And the ability to shape an organisation so ideas are delivered “So many leaders are let down by great ideas and poor execution.” Trust, Robby believes, is built through consistency. “A leader that is consistent in their values and the way they treat people whether things are going great or not, will usually have the trust of their team.”
When he speaks about a greater vision of the world, he points to the product itself. “Just look at tea. The exact same leaf gives us British black tea with milk and sugar, a matcha from Japan served in a traditional tea house, or a sweet, iced tea on the front porch in southern US where I’m from.” As a Christian business leader, he wants the work to help the world look a little more like the Kingdom of Heaven, valuing the diversity God has created, recognising the worth placed on every person and doing work that builds people up. Adventist schooling, Avondale and his early years at Sanitarium gave those values time to settle.
When asked what comes next for his career, he responded ‘So long as I’m still learning and being challenged then I’m happy. Once that’s no longer the case, I find the next opportunity tends to naturally come along.”