Her Story
About Christine
Christine Nogales brings more than 25 years of expertise to the manufacturing industry, where she has alternated between manufacturing operations and supply chain positions for about 20 years. She holds a degree in economics and maintains certification as a Supply Chain Professional through her membership in the Association for Supply Chain Managers. In her current role, Christine manages company budgets, implements and communicates KPIs to her team, and collaborates with manufacturing operations and vendors to ensure products are made correctly, transformed to meet customer needs, and delivered with satisfaction. She is actively pursuing knowledge in AI to transition into consulting, where she aims to help companies prepare clean data before automation. Christine attributes her success to intentional curiosity, continuous self-investment through education and certifications, and always asking why. She advises young women entering manufacturing to never lose their voice, stand up for what is right, and push persistently to achieve results in a male-dominated field. She values honesty and direct communication without sugarcoating. Outside her professional life, Christine volunteers with the Boys and Girls Club of Elkhart.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Christine
01What do you attribute your success to?
Just staying curious, intentionally curious about the world, and investing in yourself. Always asking the why. And just keep going back to school, keep educating yourself, keep getting those certificates, keep making yourself better for nobody else other than yourself.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Never lose your voice, especially in manufacturing and being in a man's world. Sometimes you see something and stand up and it's a problem and it gets pushed underneath the rug. Stand up for what you really believe is right and push for those implementations. You really got to stay on it and push three or four times as hard as everybody else to get it done.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The more people understand that the data that goes in needs to be clean and right before we automate it. There's potential to refine the amount of people on staff and make sure everybody's doing the right job. When you have your data fine-tuned and implement AI, make sure you are getting the most out of your people for all the things that people can do versus the automated.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Being honest and direct. I am not a person for sugarcoating. I like people to be with me honest and direct. If I made the problem, that's my fault, I'm sorry.
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