Haresh Ratnasabapathy

Since graduating in Autumn 2018 with his MBA from the University of Auckland, Haresh Ratnasabapathy has moved from Melbourne to London.

Sri Lankan-born Haresh Ratnasabapathy, moved to New Zealand when he was just six. These days he is still globe-trotting around the world.

Now Mars Wrigley regional senior sourcing manager, Haresh is putting his MBA learnings to abundant use in London.

“Most of my life, 23 years, has been in Auckland. This included all of my primary and secondary school education and my Bachelors in Psychology at the University of Auckland.”

He undertook the MBA degree to broaden his business acumen, particularly in functional areas he wasn't experienced in. Underpinning this was his desire to change industries post-MBA, build this new knowledge and leverage the network he would be exposed to.

Studying at university involved constant trans-Tasman travel, as he was based in Melbourne. At the time he was working as business development manager at Annecto, in the disability and aged care industry.

He later joined Mars Wrigley Australia as a commercial buyer, also based in Melbourne. “In this role I was buying packaging for the Australian and New Zealand markets.”
Since August 2020, however, Haresh has been based in London. “I was promoted into a regional senior sourcing manager role for Mars Wrigley – looking after the strategic sourcing of paper-based packaging for the European Region. In this role I have the opportunity to shape the strategy for the Packaging Category, as well as supporting our packaging sustainability strategy for the region.”

The MBA, says Haresh, “massively helped me manage through change. Not only in the subject matter, but I was commuting from Australia throughout the programme (early morning and late night flights), whilst at times also managing a team remotely. The experience gave me a lot of confidence to step into a new industry and function post MBA. I find now I constantly challenge myself to enter areas which have a lot of ambiguity, think differently and much of this is underpinned by my MBA experience.”

Meanwhile, lockdown has been super challenging for Haresh. “Post promotion I was locked down in Melbourne and had to do my first six months in the new role working from Australia. Once I managed to move, the lockdowns continued in the UK and only over the last six months have we entered this new normal of some freedoms. We have continued to operate mainly remotely which has challenged traditional ways we connect with colleagues, suppliers and customers.

“Most of my daily contacts I have yet to meet in person. The environment in London and the region as a whole is fast-paced which I love, and the level of complexity is incredible. We are navigating through many challenges whether it be how we operate post Brexit, as well as other legislative changes, which will land across the EU region in the next few months, the increasing cost of inflation we foresee for next year, or the supply and logistic challenges we have globally. “It’s extremely challenging but also exciting to be a part of this.”

Returning to Auckland is not easy at all for Haresh. “Whilst I have had plans to come back, the challenges of managed isolation and the risk of not being able to get back to the UK, means I haven’t been able to make it back since January 2020. I'm constantly looking at the updates for New Zealand, so that I can come back to see family and friends.”

Looking back at his time studying for the MBA, Haresh feels the programme could benefit from having more of an international profile. “I was fortunate to have completed my undergraduate degree at the university, so I already had a good feel for the quality of education. It's a great programme and I think it would definitely appeal to others internationally (Kiwis like myself included).”

His favourite subject was Organisational Studies with Chris Johnson. “This was about taking all the learnings and knowledge throughout the course and starting to think about the next steps in your career (short and long term). It really shaped my view of becoming intentional in terms of career development. Chris stayed in touch post the course and was instrumental in helping me navigate my move into Mars.”

His next career goal?

“My aspiration is to move into general management, so having completed two roles in commercial, I want to move closer to the customer in sales to broaden my experiences. Digitalisation of our business is a massive growth opportunity in terms of how we shape our business operation to sell digitally, rather than it being a siloed part of the business.”
Digitalisation, concludes Haresh, is an exciting opportunity and one he wants to pursue.