Stephen Mulvenna

In 2002, Stephen Mulvenna was graduating from Glasgow Caledonian with an MSc in Information Management. Twenty-two years later, he is the Senior Director of Talent and Development with the Coca-Cola Company in North America.

After completing his honours degree in 2000 and spending a year working and travelling in Australia, Stephen was ready to head into postgraduate study. When it came to choosing a university, Glasgow Caledonian stood out.

“I was particularly interested in an institution that would offer a practical and hands-on learning experience, with industry access and insights. From my research and networking, I found Glasgow Caledonian to be offering a degree option that would help fill some critical knowledge and experience gaps. I'd also heard from friends that it was a fun and welcoming place to study.

“I did a short internship as part of my studies, which really helped with the practical application of my learning. During my year at Glasgow Caledonian, I was really able to focus on determining future career paths.

“The design of my degree programme was grounded in industry and practice. This was really important to me as it helped me in both my job search and in preparing me to transition from education to work.”

Before graduation Stephen had already secured a role at Sainsbury’s corporate HQ. Less than two weeks later, he was moving down to London to start his new job. It would be the first step in a two-decade long career in Human Resources.

“Since leaving GCU, I have forged a 20+ year career in Human Resources. During that time, I am lucky to have worked for three different companies, across three different countries and three different and diverse industry sectors. This has included five years at the corporate HQ of Sainsbury’s in London, three years as an HR Director with the alcoholic beverages brand Diageo and 15 years in a range of global HR roles with The Coca-Cola Company.

“I have had the chance to live and work in London, Athens, and Atlanta as well as travelling globally in my role to locations as diverse as China, India, Singapore, Dubai, South Africa, Peru and much of Europe.”

Now, Stephen is living in Atlanta, Georgia and working for one of the most iconic brands in the world. Looking back, he is thankful for the part Glasgow Caledonian played in that journey.

“I have happy and fond memories of my time at GCU. I made a great community of friends, enjoyed the smaller and interactive class sizes and was able to gain new learning and insights from my time there.

“Dream big, keep learning and growing, take risks (and don’t be afraid to fail), always be your authentic self and remember that anything is possible.”