Her Story
About Annalisa
My career journey spans over 30 years and started with a desire to be a stay-at-home mom while still having adult communication and being a better mom and wife. I began in direct sales with Party Light Candles, then moved to Silpada Designs Jewelry, where I spent about 21 years. That experience was empowering and exciting, and it brought me to the edgy corporate woman I am today. It equipped me with skills I never knew I would need. After my children grew up and went in their own directions, I decided to enter the corporate world and joined Keurig Dr. Pepper for 8 years, where I gained valuable corporate skills. I was then recruited to be the Director of Sales and Business Development with Cedar Crest Dairy, a family-owned business, which is absolutely amazing. In my current role, I wear many hats and work with the distribution team, operations team, and most directly with our sales team, helping them define their territories, working with pricing, and identifying key accounts that need business reviews. I also identify new customers to onboard to balance out their portfolios. We cover many different channels, so I work with the team on pricing and product portfolios for each channel. I also work with our executive leadership team in identifying where we have opportunities with our large chain accounts. The biggest challenge in my field is staying ahead of the competition - it's a constant grind.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Annalisa
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to being very driven and wanting to set an example for my two children that anything is possible - dream big, never stop dreaming, and always believe in yourself. Being a good example for my children and the women around me has been a driving force. I am Hispanic, and I believe women of ethnicity have these little chips on our shoulders that we always have something to prove. That may or may not be true, but I have always felt like I need to always go after challenges and conquer them, to prove to women that it can be done and just shatter any glass ceiling that we can get to. Never, never stop. Just never stop.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've ever received is to never accept no as an answer. Always perceive that no as a maybe. Things change in our industries every 3, 6, 9, 12 months, so you might be saying no right now, but I'm going to be back in 3 months to see what's changed. So the best advice is never take no as an answer - that's a maybe, and I'll be back.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would tell young women entering my field to take all the information you can get, all the nuggets you can get, and network. Believe in yourself. What you put in is what you're putting out, so continue to put positivity into your mind, into your heart and your soul, and you'll get that right back.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest opportunity in my field is staying ahead of the competition. It's a constant grind, staying in front of the competition.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The most important value to me is authenticity. Always be authentic to yourself, and you'll always come out shining. You can just stay authentic to yourself. Don't pretend to be somebody that you're not, because that's a tough trail to follow, in my opinion. So, just authenticity is key.
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