Leading Complex Transformation: How Rachel Brown Delivered Suntory Oceania's Vision

Few business transformation projects in Australia match the scale and complexity of what Rachel Brown and her team of over 50 transformation professionals have achieved at Suntory Oceania. Taking on a three-year program to unite different business units and build a facility valued at over $400 million, Rachel's leadership has been instrumental in creating what may well become a blueprint for Suntory globally.

The Challenge: Creating “One Suntory"

When Rachel joined Suntory in May 2022, she entered a situation in which multiple business entities operated independently under the Suntory umbrella.

"Suntory had acquired businesses over time, and had run them as separate entities, with Holdings sitting in the middle," explained Rachel. "The high-level vision was to bring Suntory Global Spirits and Suntory Beverage and Food in Oceania together in partnership to create a multi-beverage powerhouse. It was something Suntory hadn't done anywhere else in the world."

Under the umbrella of Suntory Oceania, the business would own its supply chain in Australia and New Zealand, from end to end, including manufacturing, distribution, and sales, and would have complete control over its iconic portfolio of over 40 market-leading brands.

"It was a case of how we set about doing something that Suntory has never done before - create one culture, one Suntory, one way of doing things," Rachel said.

Although a business case with financial projections existed, further work was required to refine aspects of the strategic & cultural elements.

Leading Through Complexity

To deliver this massive transformation, Rachel worked closely with senior leadership across Suntory, both globally and locally,  and established a Programme Management Office comprising project managers, change managers, business and process leads, and data experts—a team of 50 with experience in manufacturing, logistics, and route-to-market strategies.

Working across two different Oceania businesses, Rachel found creative ways to build unity. " Because they had to work for one or the other entity, but I set the team up to be a legal entity agnostic… it was about making it look and feel like one team."

A cornerstone of Rachel's approach was bringing counterparts from each business together as joint sponsors. "Every workstream had two sponsors. So, for example, we'd bring both Chief People Officers together to become equal sponsors of the people workstream. That helped in gaining alignment for the design and for the actions we would take."

This joint sponsorship model proved crucial for cultural integration, ensuring both legacy businesses felt equally represented. "They were partners from the outset, designing what they needed to transform for their function."

Navigating Challenges

Building a +$400 million carbon-neutral manufacturing facility from scratch presented numerous challenges, particularly when global events intervened.

“Our business case was written at the end of 2021, and by late 2022, when we were about to buy materials, we were having a global inflation problem,” Rachel recalled. The costs of steel and labour skyrocketed, forcing the team to re-engineer elements of the project while maintaining the employee experience.

In another instance, vital equipment was delayed for about seven weeks due to shipping issues caused by the Red Sea conflicts. Through creative scheduling and parallel work, the team successfully reduced a seven-week delay to just one week. “These things never come in on time – they’re normally months, if not years, late. The fact that we brought this in within the month was phenomenal.”

Even the Brisbane weather conspired against the project with relentless rain. However, the site was delivered on time and is already producing non-alcoholic products, and is on track to deliver alcohol from July 1, 2025.

Technology and Innovation

With $21.5 million invested in technology, data, and process automation, inflationary pressures necessitated careful management of scope.

“We were clear about what requirements were needed for day one to deliver what the customers need,” said Rachel.

However, she said, managing expectations around change requests proved challenging, especially as new leaders joined the organisation. “You get leaders coming in wanting to redesign everything. So, it was about connecting with them, understanding that, and coming to a way that was going to work for everybody while keeping moving forward.”

Building the Customer Experience

Equally important was ensuring that the transformation would deliver value to customers.

“We brought in an expert to build out the design for our future alcohol sales team, then recruited the Sales Director about a year and a half before go-live,” Rachel explained. This early recruitment allowed the team to establish relationships with customers well before the transition.

“We had a customer communications plan from the very beginning – everyone was clear on who was going to engage with customers and how. We had our narrative ready; all external communications were aligned with everything we were saying internally.”

She said the CEOs of both business units played a vital role, presenting a unified front to major customers. “Our leaders had high visibility. You’ll see them together on our marketing material, and they visited our biggest customers to introduce the new alcohol retail strategy.”

The Legacy

With the Australian launch date of 1 July 2025 approaching (and New Zealand to follow on 1 January 2026), Rachel reflected on the program’s legacy.

“For Suntory Oceania, I think we’ve led the way in how Suntory could be in the future. This wasn't about shrinking or delivering operational efficiencies. This was truly about growth. We’ve shown them that there’s great value for employees, for sales, and for the P&L, if you work as one. What we’ve done is now being called a prototype.”

Her personal legacy has been navigating the challenge of leadership. “The leadership I’ve had to call on through the last three years has probably been at the most intense level I’ve ever operated at – leading a group of people with very detailed subject matter expertise that I don’t have, partnering with constantly changing leadership team members.”

The key, she said, has been openness, transparency and allowing time for people to adapt and adopt change.

“I’m proud of the team I’ve led and the fact that we’ve delivered the biggest investment in FMCG in the last 10 years in Australia: on time, on budget. We’re going to be able to service our customers come 1 July, as originally planned. That’s unheard of, really.”

Advice for Transformation Leaders

For those about to embark on similar transformation journeys, Rachel’s advice is clear: “Embrace the ambiguity, stick to the vision – that’s what sees you through. Be the best leader you can be for your team. Be there for them always and build great partnerships with the executive leadership team. Care as much as they care about their business and stick to your vision, and you’ll get there.”

As for the future, in line with her long-stated plans, Rachel will exit the company come 1 October, having achieved – and even exceeded – all expectations. “Opportunities like this don’t come along every day – and it may take time to find my next role. But I’m leaving my current role where I have achieved the transformation I set out to achieve, and we have a solid team in place to pick up and run with it,” she concluded.