SMU Team emerge as global champions in the Unilever’s Future Leaders’ League Global Finals 2020

50,000 applications, 72 participants from 24 countries, 1 winner

Singapore Management University (SMU) students – Sheryle Ann Lim, Michelle Siacor and Joelle Ng have emerged as Champions at Unilever’s Future Leaders’ League (FLL) 2020 Global Finals held virtually (for the first time) from 9 to 10 July 2020.

The Future Leaders’ League is Unilever’s annual global business case competition for the best and brightest university students from all over the world. Since 2013, FLL participants get the opportunity to work on real business cases with real impact and receive world class coaching from business leaders. This provides them with global experience and a career head start like no other.

Unilever has always been a company that the trio has aspired to work at because of its strong employer branding. Apart from that, they were really drawn to its brands’ emphasis on having a purpose and being sustainable. So, once they saw the EDM on their school email, they immediately signed up for the hackathon.

For the League’s global finals, participants were divided into six break out rooms for the semi-finals, given 10 minutes to present and five minutes for Q&A. The top team of each room would then proceed to the finals. For the finals, participants had 13 minutes to present and three minutes for Q&A. The participants were judged based on their creativity, brand-fit, relevance, communication effectiveness, innovation and impact, brand affinity.

On top of the presentations, there were keynotes by Unilever’s top leaders, videos covering topics such as: Brands with Purpose, Digital Transformation, Seventh Generation: Climate Change, Manage Your Career, and a networking zone for participants to engage with one another at their own time (due to timezone differences).

According to the team, the preparation for the global round was significantly more intense with two challenges posed, but the experience allowed them to learn substantially in the process. They were mentored by leaders from Unilever and Padang & Co, and also met with different stakeholders every week in the month of June. The mentors would challenge their assumptions and the logic behind their ideas, and this helped them to think more critically, identify loopholes and anticipate questions for their proposal. Additionally, their mentors offered suggestions on how they could improve their key messages, storyboarding and presentation styles and the team felt that it was the guidance that they had received which contributed to their win.

Throughout the entire journey, the trio felt that they had great teamwork and synergy and found it to be a thoroughly enjoyable and memorable experience. They have learnt so much about marketing, stakeholder management and how brands could effectively communicate their purpose. They are very thankful for the opportunity and here are some of their quotes:

Sheryle Ann Lim, 2017 LKCSB:

“This journey has been truly rewarding as I had the opportunity to apply the knowledge gained through studies, in a commercial setting. Additionally, I met new people, gained practical knowledge on product development and marketing from the top leaders in the Dove team, improved my pitching skills and most of all, had fun with my team. This competition has ignited my passion for the FMCG industry and I look forward to gaining new experiences in the future. To all those reading this, my advice would be Don't be afraid - don't be afraid to try new experiences, don't be afraid to ask questions and through it all, keep an open-mind and gain inspiration from the world around you.”

Joelle Ng, 2017 LKCSB:

“This entire experience has been extremely fulfilling. I not only gained a better grasp of brand management and product development, but also honed my strategic thinking and pitching skills in the process. Being exposed to Unilever's wide array of sustainable brands, the UFLL has undoubtedly granted me extra motivation to pursue a career in a purpose-led company. While the journey was admittedly demanding, I am immensely thankful for the invaluable guidance received, lessons learnt, and teammates I can rely on and work comfortably with. This has definitely been a great ride!”

Michelle Siacor, 2017 SOE:

“My biggest takeaways from this competition are the knowledge and insights that I have gained purely from interacting with our brand and business mentors. Coming from a non-FMCG background, this competition really made me appreciate the work that goes behind these FMCG companies’ marketing, brand management, product development and financial structures. I believe these insights and new ways of thinking will definitely help me in future projects and even in the current career path that I am pursuing. Moving forward, I can see myself venturing into the FMCG world as well.”

For their hardwork and efforts, the SMU team have won themselves tickets to the One Young World in 2021 with a Unilever delegation, a chance to work with Dove in a gig, and a reverse mentoring session with one of Unilever’s senior business leaders.

Congratulations to Sheryle, Joelle and Michelle and we wish them the very best when they visit Munich in 2021!

More photos can be found on Unilever’s facebook.