Her Story
About dianne
My career in supply chain and logistics spans over 25 years, during which I've experienced the full spectrum of leadership roles. I climbed to Senior Logistics Manager for North America, but after COVID hit, I made a conscious decision to step back for personal reasons and took a non-management planning role to decompress. While I appreciated the break, I realized how much I missed managing and leading people - it's truly my passion to help people grow their careers. Now, as an execution leader for North America in supply chain management, I focus on the planning side of supply, not including demand, but more plant-related supply and tolling, and the movement of goods. My day-to-day involves monitoring production planning, replenishment, handling availability challenges, and communicating with leadership about concerns and constraints. What I really do is problem-solve and provide options when there are stoppages or constraints. I'm really good at reading people and understanding their strengths, which has allowed me to successfully redirect team members into roles where they truly excel. I believe strongly in work-life balance and helping people understand that work isn't forever - you need to focus on what makes you happy outside of your career too.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with dianne
01What do you attribute your success to?
I'm a really good planner - I always have a Plan B. I don't just have one plan and hope it works; I always think through scenarios and options. You have to be cautious and think about what could happen, especially when you're working with people and don't know their skill sets yet. You can't say a plan is going to be 100% accurate if you don't know whether something aligns with someone's strengths. So I always have a couple of scenarios ready. I'm also really good at reading people and seeing what they're good at, which helps me judge whether they'll be successful in a role or if they need to be redirected to something that better fits their abilities.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
I had a mentor who told me to really focus on not getting overwhelmed by the day-to-day, but instead look at the big picture and focus on the goal. That advice has helped me a lot, because it's easy to get stuck on the little things. When you keep your eye on the bigger goal, you don't let the daily challenges derail you.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Really study AI and use it, because the future is going to require people with the skill set to teach AI. You're going to have people who need to teach it, and once they teach it, then yes, for the next generation it might be a replacement, but there's always going to be something else for people to do. Even 20 years ago, there were jobs we needed that we don't need now - we've found different ways and resources. So definitely get that AI technology under your belt. If you work in supply chain or logistics, you've got to be very mobile and very willing to change, because with AI especially, it's going to be very important to learn new tools and be very flexible. It's going to be a transition period, and those who adapt will thrive.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Communication is the main thing for me - it's the majority of what I do. Really just having a good plan is essential. But I also believe strongly that your outside world has to actually supersede your work career. A lot of people who don't maintain good work-life balance have a difficult time retiring later. You have to really focus on what your priorities are, and your priority should definitely not be work. Life is short, and people should really focus on what makes them happy. Even if your work makes you happy, you have to look at what you're going to do without it. That perspective is more important than any award or recognition.
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