Patricia Marques, CEO of Starbucks Vietnam on the F&B Labour Force, Career Growth and Mentorship

In line with this year’s Vietnamese Women’s Day, I’m spotlighting female leaders in Vietnam’s F&B industry to share their tips, stories and experience about climbing up the industry ladder. This is the first of a special 4-part series part of “Nhau You Know: Vietnam’s F&B Industry” for Vietnamese Women’s Day.

“Nhau You Know: Vietnam’s F&B Industry” is an ongoing thought leadership series aimed at taking business leaders deeper into Vietnam’s fast-growing coming-of-age F&B industry by spotlighting some of the industry’s most pressing issues and emerging trends. Follow weekly for expert-driven opinions and insight from leading tastemakers and changemakers about Vietnam’s F&B industry.

Patricia Marque, CEO of Starbucks Vietnam

“Challenges are what drive us to be better or give up. Sometimes challenges are too difficult and we give up but most of the time, we’re able to keep going so why not try? At the end of the day, you have to fight for what you believe in and feel is worth it.”

For Patricia Marques, CEO of Starbucks Vietnam, besides conquering the Vietnamese language, facing challenges, developing a sense of grit and role models have all played pivotal roles in her career progression.

What keeps you motivated?

What started as a necessity slowly developed into a passion and now after 12 years of living in Vietnam, I believe I have a sense of responsibility to my team - people’s success is my biggest happiness - and the industry in Vietnam where I often feel there is lack of a sense of empathy and care to go the extra mile for customers. I believe we can always do better.

What is a key reason you would attribute your career progression to?

What I find and continue to experience is that the difference between an extremely difficult path and an easy one is the people. Generous and kind people are there to offer you a hand, a word of advice or simply a finger in the right direction can make all the difference. I am extremely lucky to have met many great people when I needed a friendly hand throughout my career from mentors, and friends to coaches. We need more people willing to help other people.

How do you balance your work and personal life?

I sincerely love what I do and so I don’t have to decide which is more important than the other, I simply balance my obligations as a boss, colleague, family member, friend and citizen. They all require time, attention and dedication and as long as you are not obsessed with either, finding a good balance will not be a problem.  

Gender equality in Vietnam’s food and beverage industry - is it easy for women in the country to become leaders?

I don’t see the F&B industry as being dominated by men in Vietnam. In fact, my experience is quite the opposite, I can say Vietnam is the most gender diverse of the countries I have worked in and I find more female leaders here than in many other countries.

What words of advice do you have for the next generation of female hospitality leaders?

• Being tough doesn’t mean being “manly” or “less feminine” - being tough means “grit”. You can still be caring, empathetic, generous and calm in these “tough” roles. It is important to differentiate these terms for women so they won’t be intimidated by male roles.

• Many things are overrated - pay scales, resumes and even higher education - you don’t need an MBA to be a great leader or CEO

• Eliminate mediocre language - “good enough” or “reasonably okay”, you should strive for perfection and how you move upwards and break the glass ceiling!

• Don’t be afraid to initiate the conversation - Choose to challenge your boss and your team. Allow your team and yourself to make mistakes because, without them, there is no growth or glory.

• Don’t feel sorry for yourself - Feeling sorry and complaining is not productive, take your talent where it is welcomed and embraced.

What do you hope for our next generation of female hospitality leaders?

More sustainable business decisions - Consider our planet, environment and surroundings, we simply can’t afford to continue ignoring our world. Every decision we make has consequences; we must be responsible for them, especially in Vietnam where’s almost 100 million people. In the next 10 years, women will be leading countries, world organizations and enormous corporations, let’s be prepared to make a difference.

Next: Alexia Dulot, National Channel Manager at Moët Hennessy in Vietnam

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