Erica Ferber

I would say I attribute a lot of corporate success to the patience of people when I first entered the workplace. I credit anyone who is willing to take time and work with new hires and understand, especially coming out of school, that many things are new, and the corporate world is kind of a very political world. So anyone who was patient with me in finding my place or maybe understanding how that world works, I think a lot of success comes from that because it set me up to succeed. Another thing would be being kind of steadfast. If there's a goal, I want to achieve it, and maybe that also relates to sports. I played volleyball growing up, I ran track growing up, and I think a lot of the competitive spirit of sports has helped my success, especially in sales now. The spirit of competition has really driven me.

I would say don't underestimate soft skills. And don't let the nature of being in maybe a more male-dominated industry turn you off from a successful industry. You don't necessarily have to be the best person in STEM to succeed in the chemical industry.

I think currently there's a lot of market uncertainty due to global events. Our business is heavily impacted by energy markets and conflict. Our industry was impacted by the war in Ukraine pretty heavily, so really it changes day to day, and that can be a challenge when it comes to strategy. I think we're well-positioned in some ways because we do have a market presence in South America, domestically in the U.S., in Europe, so we try to have a competitive advantage through where we're located and where we're manufacturing. But there's a lot of uncertainty in the market, and it can make it difficult to know if the decision that you're making today is going to still be relevant in 6 months. On the opportunity side, I think there's a huge opportunity for public education around the environmental impact of PVC. The conversations that I have with the everyday person that's not in the industry is, oh, like plastic and PVC, oh, it's really bad, it's bad for the environment. But when you work with the environmental people at Vestalit, when you actually see the numbers on recycling or on different programs that come from big customers, PVC versus other materials is actually a more sustainable option than people would think.

I think I'm very action-oriented. I think both personally and professionally I'm anti-procrastination. I think as soon as you take action, things move forward. I think it's super important in the workplace to be adaptable. I think as soon as you develop a rigid set of beliefs or you're very stuck in a certain mindset, you're eventually going to either burn yourself out or not be able to change even as new teams come in, new people come in. So adaptability is key. In my personal life, and I guess in work in a sense too, I think personal freedom is super important. I can say that one of the reasons I love Vestalit is we have very high goals, we have very high expectations, but they don't manage you to a point that you can't do the job in the way that you can be most successful. So I think personal freedom is super important to be able to do your job well. And in my personal life, I'm very, I would say free-spirited. I have a free-spirited outlook. I don't need a lot of rules in my life. I think last would be integrity. If I say that I'm going to do something, I do it, and in personal and professional, I think it's really important.