What This CEO of a Drinks Company Learnt From the Tech Industry

Why It Matters

The conversation highlights how CPG leaders can use cultural insight and decisive investment to reverse declining categories and capture shifting consumer preferences, offering a playbook for brands facing stagnant growth. It signals that disciplined risk-taking and clear conviction remain key levers for corporate turnaround and growth.

Summary

Anubha Sahasrabudhe, CEO of Lion in Australia and New Zealand, describes her competitive, risk-taking leadership shaped by a formative Coca‑Cola stint in China where she tied the brand to national pride around the Beijing Olympics. She emphasizes relentless improvement, a ‘go big or go home’ philosophy, and illustrates it by reviving the neglected Hahn beer brand through targeted investment, innovation and positioning it for low/zero‑carb consumer trends. Her personal routines and leadership habits underline discipline and conviction in decision‑making. The interview frames brand resurrection as the product of cultural insight, stakeholder persuasion and willingness to back bold bets.

Original Description

One of Anubha Sahasrabuddhe’s proudest moments was getting Chinese consumers to drink Coca-Cola – and lots of it.

Earlier in her career, Sahasrabuddhe, now the chief executive of brewing giant Lion, was asked to go to China in the run-up to the Beijing Olympics and take on the competition, Pepsi.

Sahasrabuddhe’s stint was a success, but there were also failures. The experience led the chief executive to adopt a strategy she says the tech industry has mastered.

On this week’s episode, BOSS (https://www.afr.com/boss) editor Sally Patten sits down with the boss of Australia’s second biggest brewing company to find out how past mistakes have shaped future wins.

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