At the recent AWESOME Scholar CONNECT! gathering, AWESOME Excellence in Education Scholars from 2019-2021 and AWESOME/MIT Advancing Women through Education (AWE) Fellows took advantage of the opportunity to ask questions of two successful supply chain pros.
According to Malia Beal, AWESOME’s VP of Strategic Platforms, “The purpose of the AWESOME Scholar CONNECT! events is to “give ascending women in supply chain the opportunity to meet each other, connect with each other, and build a network. Research has shown that successful women tend to be part of a community of other leaders they can turn to for career advice and support — and even job leads. Often these connections also turn into lifetime friendships.”
At the October 6th gathering, Kelsey Peoples, APLA Fulfillment Center of Excellence Business Planning and Readiness for Nike; and Betsey Nohe, Vice President, Supply Chain Americas, Morton Salt, shared insights and lessons learned from their successful and dynamic supply chain careers.
Kelsey described how in roles for a number of other companies leading to her current position with Nike, she gained an end-to-end mindset and developed four guideposts for her career: Balance, Mentorship, Be Your Own Cheerleader, and Just Be You.
Throughout Betsey’s career in leadership roles with two companies – McCormick for 18 years and Morton Salt for 10 years — she looked for ways to deepen and broaden her expertise. While working in those roles, she continued her education by earning an MBA and a PhD.
AWESOME Scholars then raised questions, such as how do you know when it’s time to leave a certain role or a certain company and go on to something else? What challenges have you faced as a woman in this field and how have you overcome them? How do you keep expanding your knowledge and learning on the job – and how do you realize when you might need more education? What can companies do to support parents and especially working mothers?
Future AWESOME Scholar CONNECT! events are scheduled for December, February, April and June, along with other types of Scholar Programs.