Kate joined Musgrave almost nine years ago as an Omnichannel Graduate and has progressed through a number of product roles to her current position, leading digital products across in-store and checkout technology.

From working in a SuperValu store from the age of 16 to leading some of Musgrave’s digital product initiatives, Kate shares how her early experience shaped her career, the opportunities that helped her progress, and the advice she would give to people starting their careers at Musgrave.

Can you tell us a little about yourself and how your Musgrave journey began?

My journey began in Musgrave before I actually joined as a graduate. My father, who worked in Quish’s SuperValu in Ballincollig for over 30 years, had me down in the shop working the day after my 16th birthday. He very kindly said I could have the day of my birthday off!

I spent the rest of school and college working in-store across every area. It was one of the best learning experiences I could have had. I use what I learned pretty much every single day in my role.

After studying BIS in college, I had an interest in digital, but I felt I wasn’t ready for a standard role and wanted to continue more structured learning and development as I started my career. A graduate programme was exactly what I needed to do that.

What did you do when you first joined the Graduate Programme?

I started as an Omnichannel Graduate almost nine years ago within the newly formed digital product team at the time.In the digital product team, we identify, validate and design digital solutions that enhance everyday living for our shoppers and drive business value for our retailers and Musgrave.

Working cross-functionally, we manage delivering new solutions to market, following a design, test, launch and adapt process. And we are also continually enhancing our existing solutions, such as the Real Rewards app, SuperValu online shopping, our in-store tills and SuperScan.

While on the graduate programme, I supported the SuperScan trial, which is now a checkout offering I am leading in my current role. I also implemented some of the first revenue-generating digital screens in the business and a candidate management system for our retail partners.

How has your career developed since completing the Graduate Programme?

After the graduate programme, I moved into an Associate Product Manager role, launching our SuperValu e-gift cards at the height of COVID to protect the corporate campaign at Christmas, the Frank & Honest loyalty programme, and Donnybrook Fair’s virtual canteen, a B2B lunch ordering platform.

From there, I was promoted to Product Manager, where I worked on embedding product ways of working with business stakeholders and multiple Real Rewards releases. I then moved to work with the Insight & Innovation department, launching gamification with Elevate, and through validation identified that autonomous stores were not a viable approach.

Last year I was promoted to Senior Product Manager, which is where I am now. I’m the digital product lead for all in-store and checkout technology, so anything digital that a customer interacts with in-store – from SuperScan, digital price tags and Deli Kiosks to checkouts and loss prevention technology.

What have you learned about progressing your career at Musgrave?

To progress in Musgrave, you need to get out there, outside your day-to-day role, and put your hand up for every opportunity, no matter if it seems scary at the time.

You’re more than able for it. You’re on the graduate programme for a reason – the business saw the potential in you.

Through those opportunities, you will build your brand within your team and outside your team, which will help you progress in the business.

There will be people along the way who see your skills and champion you. Take full advantage of this and nurture those relationships long term – even if one or both of you move on. Relationships are very valuable in Musgrave.

What has helped you grow throughout your career?

There are three key areas that have helped me grow within my career to date.

Firstly, the people. My managers, all the different business owners I worked with, but especially all the women that I was surrounded by in the digital product team and the other boss ladies in Musgrave, showing up and killing it every day.

Secondly, Musgrave gives you the autonomy to lead. My first project to lead from a product point of view was the retailer candidate management system. It was a steep learning curve, with a lot of help from the business owner, Paul Minihan, but after this I really started to feel like I was making an impact.

And finally, know your strengths and weaknesses. Utilise your strengths at every opportunity and slowly keep building on your weaknesses, as nobody is perfect.

Is there a particular project or achievement that you’re most proud of?

I can’t pick one project which is the proudest I have worked on. Some I mentioned earlier, but they’re all like my little babies – you put so much time and effort into them.

There is no better feeling than ticking something off the list that is completed, is working well and has made an impact on customers, retailers and the business.

But one thing I am really proud of is winning Rising Star at the Musgrave Early Careers Awards two years ago. Being nominated by the incredible team I work with, I was really honoured they nominated me.

What advice would you give to people starting their careers at Musgrave?

One piece of advice I would give to both leaders in the business and early careers talent is feedback. It’s our greatest piece of knowledge – give feedback at every point possible.

Make sure you’re gossiping the successes, but also calling out the improvements in the moment. It’s not to discourage; it’s to make everyone the best possible person they can be, so they go on to achieve everything they want to.

And on the flip side, ask people you work with besides your manager to do feedback frameworks on you.

And lastly, start contributing as early as possible. Speaking up and making small points in group settings builds confidence quickly. It’s not easy to do, but it’s worth pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone, as you’ll be more comfortable using your voice long term.