channel manager

brand manager

director

senior analyst

field marketer

Beam Suntory

My three years at Beam Suntory offered a mixed experience. While the company boasts an impressive portfolio of spirits brands, the day-to-day reality presented significant challenges.

A typical day involved navigating complex internal politics while trying to meet increasingly unrealistic targets. The workload was consistently heavy, with regular after-hours work and weekend commitments that made work-life balance nearly impossible. The high-pressure environment often led to burnout among team members.

Management operated in silos, with poor communication and limited support for employee development. Decision-making was often top-down with little consideration for field-level input, leading to disconnects between corporate expectations and market realities.

The hardest part of the job was dealing with the toxic workplace culture. Office politics heavily influenced advancement opportunities, and there was a clear disconnect between performance and recognition. Goals were frequently adjusted upward without corresponding resource support.

The most enjoyable aspects were the product portfolio itself and the employee discount program. Having access to premium spirits brands and industry events was a definite perk. Some benefits were competitive, though overall compensation lagged behind industry standards.

What stands out about working at Beam Suntory is the stark contrast between its market-leading brands and its internal operational challenges. While the company has strong products and market presence, it struggles with employee retention due to poor management practices and an unsustainable work culture.

Learned:
- Strong technical knowledge of the spirits industry
- Crisis management skills developed through challenging situations
- Importance of self-advocacy in a political environment
- Valuable experience in premium brand management
- How to navigate complex corporate structures

Would I recommend working here? Only if you're specifically interested in the spirits industry and are prepared for a challenging work environment. The experience can be valuable for your career, but comes at a significant personal cost.

Rating Breakdown Explanation:
- Overall 3/5: The company's strong market position is offset by internal challenges
- Work/Life Balance 2/5: Expected to be constantly available, frequent overtime
- Compensation/Benefits 2/5: Below market average, though some benefits are good
- Job Security/Advancement 1/5: Limited growth opportunities, politically influenced
- Management 1/5: Poor communication, lack of support, inconsistent leadership
- Culture 1/5: Toxic environment, high stress, political

Advice to Management:
Focus on creating a healthier work culture, set realistic goals, improve communication channels, and prioritize employee well-being and development. The company's external success should be matched by internal excellence.

Senior management is a nightmare. There is no clear direction given, simply chase the shiny object until the leaders tell you to chase something else. All VP's seem to have different agendas and they are often conflicting.

Teams are far too lean and leaders won't even consider hiring more people who can actually do the work. 

The culture is cutthroat and toxic. Doesn't matter the location. 

The people, who actually do the work, are talented, caring and overall a pleasure to work with. Too bad they are often treated poorly and taken for granted by their senior leaders. 

Wake up Beam! You were once a great company with great brands. Put some real energy in to fixing the culture, not just a half-assed HR campaign. It starts at the top. Hold your leaders accountable for their behavior. Hire leaders who really care about people and their development.

Planned in order to secure materials when a big undertaking is concerned. Communicate with other Project Managers and help them to implement a plan before a project commences. Modified plans to suit requirements and time constraints. Keeping inventories adequately stocked and tracking progress is the main responsibility of Schedulers, whether it is in the retail field. Consulted with the other project managers, material suppliers, workforce supervisors and logistics teams in order to glean information, secure materials or give instructions with regards to the needs of a project. Gave updates on progress and modifies the plan to formulate solutions for areas that are running behind.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The cooperation between colleagues, hybrid work schedule on individual need/work requirements, brand ambassador reimbursement.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Constant meetings and changes to organization.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Was better a few years ago.  Industry/market pressures are affecting how the company is managing responses and not always clear.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Can be chock-ful of meetings, urgent requests and need to research how it can be handled or fixed.

It's a decent place to work with decent benefits overall. There is quite the divide between union and company salary personnel, especially concerning time off and certain benefits. There is also a divide between departments and borderline negligent lack of communication that result in huge oversights. Union employees are forced to take vacation or layoff during shutdown periods. Points system for union employees is very strict and employees often use FMLA to circumvent this issue. Extreme level of gossip across the company that would be expected in a middle school setting. Training and professional development are almost non existent. 

Although Beam is doing great as a Fortune 500 company, it is issuing a lot of changes to make itself more competitive. This means employee compensation and benefits are below par for the industry. The union is over-protective and create friction, but they have reasons to. The pension system has been removed and the benefits have degraded. There is little opportunity for advancement with lateral shifts happening rarely, and upward shifts proportional to the rate of retirement. Also, the company's accounting team sucks.

I worked in the tourism department at Beam Suntory. The bourbon industry pays well. The company is Japanese owned, so higher management is seen very infrequently, but Suntory is wonderful when they do stop in. The Beam family is very hands on and they are the kindest people. There is NO work/life balance in the tourism department. Weekends are an absolute must and are very discouraged from requesting off, even for important family events. Management in tourism is biased towards certain employees. 

Co-workers were great. Job at first was great. As employees started to leave and being the member who had been in the group the longest I got several job duties put on me that eventually became too overwhelming.  
In the process, I was able to learn a lot more about the program SAP and the payment process.
Concur I learned a lot about as well, but am disappointed that I didn't have time to learn more.
Training was never followed through.
Overall, this was my first career and I was able to learn and grow and develop over my three years there.

There is a saying internally that everyone is more willing to re-do something than doing it right the first time.  

The place moves fast and it is always in flux and re-org and is very reactive to the weekly Nielsen reports.  It's a great place if you thrive in the hustle but can also be frustrating to drive focus on doing the job at hand the right way, the first time.  

Decision making has been overly democratized.  Everyone has a voice, and often not in their area of expertise.

Otherwise, it's an amazing culture with a great portfolio of brands and a fun environment but needs more diversity.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Fun work environment, work life balance, great portfolio of brands. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Limited opportunities to move up and roles are not getting backfilled due to impending layoffs.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Somewhat political, but you get regular happy hours, good work life balance most of the time, and most people are kind and willing to help.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Channel manager 19 salaries reported	$95,605 per year
Brand manager 9 salaries reported	$125,944 per year
Director 3 salaries reported	$185,833 per year
Senior analyst 1 salary reported	$67,500 per year
Field marketer 8 salaries reported	$107,750 per year

Working at Suntory Global Spirits: Company Overview and Reviews

Suntory Global Spirits

Suntory Global Spirits Ratings

Popular jobs at Suntory Global Spirits

Salary Satisfaction

Job Seeker Tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected