Jan Tharp
President & CEO - The Bumble Bee Seafood Company

What led you to pursue a career in this industry?

I fell into this industry while attending Michigan State University. I had taken many engineering courses and was looking for something different but did not know what I wanted to pursue…

Lisa Propati
Vice President & General Manager - WLS, a ProMach Product Brand

What is one (or more) piece(s) of advice you’d offer a woman entering this industry, or what do you know now that you wish you knew when you were younger and just starting out?   

The advice I would give is…

Lisa Barrieau
Banding Sales Manager - Food, Felins

What led you to pursue a career in this industry?

I transitioned from ballet to fine dining to customer service at Felins and found that I loved the world of manufacturing and decided to pursue a career in sales within the company.…

Cimberly Weir
Associate Director, Michigan State University

What led you to pursue a career in this industry?

Honestly, I attribute my interest in manufacturing to Sesame Street and the episode where they make the crayons.  I was fascinated by it and will never forget it and could still watch…

Lisa Hunt
CEO, Plexpack Corp.

What led you to pursue a career in this industry?

Did not pursue in this industry per se. Didn’t look at manufacturing as a viable option or even was aware of it as an option. Started with more creative endeavors and ended up in marketing. Got this start as…

Lisa Rathburn
Vice President of Engineering, Marzetti Company

What do you enjoy most about your career?

I have been blessed to have been given several opportunities that have leveraged my technical background, but really stretched me out of my comfort zone as it relates to people…

CEO, Morrison Container Handling Solutions

What is one piece of advice you’d offer a woman entering this industry?
Find your voice – you don’t need to act like a man – be yourself and find a way to be heard. Take advantage of the fact you do stand out in a group – be articulate, on point and…

By: Joyce Longfield, R&D – Principal of HPP Applications, Good Foods Group, LLC

What is a piece of advice you’d offer a woman entering this industry?
From the beginning I was fortunate enough to have male role models who treated me as their equals and never viewed me as inferior or less than them. That…

By: Allison Wagner, Business Strategy Manager, Morrison Container Handling Solutions

It’s 6 a.m. on a Saturday and I’m sitting next to my dad as he drives me into Chicago’s Southside. As a business and shop operations manager, he rarely took a day off, let alone a Saturday, and he usually needed office help.…

Less than 7% of Fortune 500 Companies are led by women. Yet, according to a recent Harvard Business Review survey, female leaders are rated as equal to or better than their male counterparts in almost every core competency, including initiative, integrity, problem solving, and communication. So then why the discrepancy…