Her Story
About Aqua
Aqua Gentis is a results-driven business professional currently serving as a Business Process Specialist II at Cintas, where she specializes in optimizing enterprise accounts receivable processes and driving operational efficiency. She is known for her expertise in process improvement, project management, and leading cross-functional teams to achieve measurable results. Aqua focuses on standardizing metrics, leveraging technology, and implementing scalable solutions that enhance both internal performance and customer outcomes, while ensuring teams remain aligned, efficient, and customer-focused. Aqua’s career path reflects a dynamic and unconventional journey shaped by opportunity and adaptability. She began in the retail industry before launching and successfully running her own business, which she later sold while completing her MBA. From there, she transitioned into commercial printing before joining Cintas over nine years ago. Through a combination of expertise and initiative, she has taken on multiple roles within the organization, ultimately stepping into leadership responsibilities where she now manages a team dedicated to process improvement, training, systems implementation, and change management for large-scale accounts receivable operations. Her work centers on streamlining processes, increasing speed and efficiency, and modernizing operations to better integrate with evolving business systems. She holds a Master of Business Administration and a Bachelor’s degree in International Business from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and is a certified Six Sigma Black Belt. Aqua brings a thoughtful leadership philosophy to her work, describing herself as a “navigator” rather than the captain—someone who excels at supporting, guiding, and elevating others. Her greatest accomplishment lies not in titles or accolades, but in the growth of the people she mentors, many of whom have gone on to build successful careers of their own. Passionate about developing talent and fostering high-performing teams, Aqua is committed to creating meaningful, lasting impact both within her organization and beyond.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Aqua
01What do you attribute your success to?
My success comes down to several key things. First and foremost, it's the teams I support and the teams who supports me - capable, amazing people who want to help and want to see you grow. Second, it's being curious about everything - and having that curiosity encouraged - it's been absolutely essential. I'm always asking questions, always exploring, always trying to understand how things work and how they can work more efficiently for all. That combination of having a strong, supportive team around me and maintaining an active, encouraged curiosity has been the foundation of everything I've been able to accomplish.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Fail often. As you're learning, it's not wrong to fail; it's actually very healthy. When you do inevitably fail (because you're human); fail fast, fail cheap, and fail fun! Do it quickly, dust yourself off and go, 'Yeesh, that was gross, I'll never do that again, but I learned something!' Failure is not the enemy - not doing anything is, and that's what you want to avoid.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Two key pieces of advice have helped me immensely and I would like to share those. First, there are no stupid questions. Never be afraid to ask or be the only hand up in a room. Chances are someone else also has the same question and asking questions help eliminate miscommunications and misdirection. Second, find out what type of learning style you are and how you communicate. Do you need face-to-face conversations? Do you need things written down or to write them down yourself? Do you need to physically attempt it yourself? Finding out how you prefer to receive and share information will help you navigate situations when your preferences aren't available or if you're having a hard time making sense of something. This was particularly useful for me when transitions from an academic environment to a business environment as they have very different communication methods, and it was quite jarring.
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