To be just 24 years old and rising meteorically through the ranks of Fortune 500 companies, you need a defining trait. For Evan Popham, that trait is an unceasing curiosity.
It served him well when he worked at LEGO, where he was responsible for forecasting 800 SKUs in a direct-to-consumer online division for the company. That curiosity may be even better-suited to his role within Heineken USA. “I am constantly trying to expand my knowledge of not only the Heineken portfolio but also the beer market in general,” says Popham, who in less than one year was promoted from an analyst role to regional demand manager for the brand’s West Coast market.
His ever-growing knowledge base, coupled with his analytical prowess, has improved Heineken USA’s forecasting for the region since he’s taken over, consistently being within 2%-3% of forecasted quantities. “His work has helped us quickly identify and address forecasting opportunities and gap closing discussions nationwide,” says Arnagela Morantes, former senior director of supply chain planning at Heineken USA.
For Popham, the golden moment thus far in his career has been co-developing the concept of “Demand Segmentation,” which essentially applies a forecasting methodology to a given product based on its volatility and overall volume. “This process was praised by the planning community and is being piloted in Portugal and Russia,” says Popham. “It’s amazing to me that my influence on Heineken extends beyond just the US market.”
