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in Seattle, WA, where she interned in 2006 and returned after graduating from Goizueta. In this Q&A with Goizueta Magazine, Stiritz describes her work at Starbucks, how she landed in Seattle, and a few of the challenges along the way.
Gita Rai Stiritz: On reinventing a brand and herself
GM: Tell us something about your work with Starbucks. Stiritz: I had the great opportunity to lead the reinvention of Frappuccino. The 15-year-old, $2 billion global brand faced sluggish sales. My challenge was to provide customers with more value and healthful options by rebuilding the product platform to deliver a fresher cold beverage, one that could be customized in much the same way as Starbucks’ hot beverages. Through extensive consumer research and market testing, I worked to introduce the new “however-you-want-it” Frappuccino in the summer of 2010, and it received a very positive response.
GM: Can you describe a key personal challenge you are facing? Stiritz: I recently gave birth and wonder how I will be the mother I hope to be while managing the career I’ve always dreamed of. I’ve known Andrea Hershatter [Goizueta senior associate dean and director of the BBA Program] for more than 10 years, and having observed her successful balance of family and career, I believe I can strike the right balance to find happiness and satisfaction in this next chapter of life. GM: What do you like to do in your spare time? Stiritz: Running with my dog is my passion outside of work and family time. It clears my head, recharges my body, and makes me feel like anything is possible. I started running along the Charles River when I was working as a consultant in Cambridge, MA. Now I run in Seattle. An early morning run is by far the best way to start the day and something I treasure. GM: Any advice you’d like to share with alumni? Stiritz: My greatest learning experiences have come from my most difficult challenges. I encourage others to look at setbacks not as failures, but as opportunities to grow and glean insights for future endeavors. For example, when I was a student at Goizueta, I knew I wanted to stay in Atlanta, where I had lived for over 10 years, after graduation, so I focused my summer internship search on Atlanta-only companies. My targeted internship didn’t work out, however. Over the holidays, my (future) husband and I took a trip to Costa Rica and stumbled upon a coffee farm tour. The local farmers were so proud of their crop and the community they built around their plantation. They were especially proud (and thankful!) for their relationship with one customer in particular— Starbucks—and spoke over and over again about the positive impact the company had on their daily lives. Though moving to the Pacific Northwest had never been on my radar, I was so inspired by the farmers’ stories and passion that I began pursuing Starbucks as a potential internship experience. Had I not been turned down for the Atlanta internship, it’s likely my eyes would have never been opened to the myriad of other opportunities out there. My time with Starbucks has allowed me to grow tremendously, and the new life in Seattle has given my husband and me a whole new perspective on the world.—Susan Merritt Jordan
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CATHERINE BENNETT: On rising to the occasion Business challenges can test the mettle of the best executive. According to Catherine Bennett 05MEMBA, her trial by fire came when she took over as assistant vice president of corporate risk management at MetLife’s headquarters in New York City. “I walked in the door in December 2009, and then there was the big announcement that MetLife was acquiring one of the AIG companies, ALICO, in February 2010,” she says. The deal was finalized in November of that year.
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Gita Rai Stiritz 01BBA 07MBA is category manager for food (lunch items) at Starbucks Coffee Company
The acquisition brought the insurance and financial services giant into more than fifty new countries, launching MetLife from a top US firm to one of the largest global players overnight.“Challenging times do make for interesting work,” Bennett says. One aspect of her job involves work on mergers and acquisitions, collaborating with the insurer’s cross-function, due diligence teams. Her tone is upbeat when she considers the ever-changing and detail-oriented role she plays at MetLife managing the global player’s insurance needs for its numerous business units scattered across the globe. Bennett notes that her Goizueta education has helped her to apply a strategy and method to many things she used to do intuitively on the job.“It gives you added confidence when you have a framework to approach the problems that come up day-to-day,” she says. Before her move to NYC, Bennett enjoyed a balmier locale, serving for six years as senior vice president at Endurance Specialty Insurance, a Bermuda-based startup and specialty provider of property and casualty insurance and reinsurance. The sunny isle was home base during her enrollment at Goizueta. Bennett describes the logistics— and the classroom experience—of pursuing a modular MBA experience as “intense but worthwhile,” adding that she was able to learn new concepts and immediately apply them at work. Bennett has also worked for other notable players in the insurance and financial services world, including Zurich Financial Services, Alexander & Alexander, and National Union, another AIG company. Life in the Big Apple may be a big change from her previous job location, but the move seems apropos for the avid Mets fan, and Bennett’s role in MetLife’s global operations means she is still very much involved in international business. Since returning to the US, Bennett has taken her idea of principled leadership, honed at Goizueta, and applied it to her community work. She currently volunteers for the Good Dog Foundation, working as part of a therapy team with her highly trained Labradoodle, named Rosie. Together they visit senior citizen homes, classrooms, and Gilda’s Club, a cancer patient support organization.—Myra Thomas
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