Her Story
About Billye
Billye Survis serves as Head of Talent and HR Business Partner for the Americas at Ornua in the dairy industry, where she leads talent strategy, leadership development, and HR business partnership. Her career has focused on talent acquisition, culture, talent development, and leadership development across global organizations, with a passion for helping leaders shape positive employee experiences and supporting individuals in reaching their full potential. She holds a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in adult education, which supports her work in developing leadership courses, and she is a certified Discovery Insights professional. Billye is a board member of the Wisconsin Guardian Foundation, authoring children's books whose proceeds help purchase service dogs for veterans, and she participates in the PIPAA Collective. She previously served on the Rotary Club board and remains involved with her church. She has received the Rotarian Year Award and credits her father with instilling a strong work ethic while drawing motivation from mentoring others.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Billye
01What do you attribute your success to?
My dad really gave me a really strong work ethic. My mom was the one who stayed home and let him have that opportunity. I enjoy being able to help people, work with people, and see them reach their full potential. I'm on LinkedIn networking, or I'm writing posts, or I'm researching things that I'm passionate about for work.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Take every opportunity, don't say no to anything. Learn as much as you can about as much as you can. And if you don't have all the answers, it's okay, figure it out. This came from Ann Ohm.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Don't feel like you have to know everything or have your entire career mapped out. Some of the most important opportunities in my career came from just being able to step into something I hadn't planned for, or willing to be open to that conversation. Take the opportunity. Learn everything you can, build relationships, and then when you get to a place where eventually you'll be able to open that door for someone else, open it. Help them walk through it, be their advocate.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Leadership development in general is facing challenges because the economy is a little bit rough right now. When people are looking to cut costs, things that don't have a dollar amount that are going to make money are the first to get cut. I'm seeing more colleagues having positions cut or pulling back on training.
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