Influential Woman · Retail Fixture Manufacturing Account Manager
Erika Luster
Senior Account Manager, --
Chicago, IL
Her Story
About Erika
I've been in my field just 30 years plus, actually. I kind of got into it right after college, so just never stepped away from it. My current title is Senior Account Manager, and I've been in this role for approximately 6 years. Starting in this industry, it's fixture manufacturing. So I kind of started off at the base, well, it's customer service, I guess you can call it. That's kind of like the order entry, data entry level, and just over the years, worked my way up.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Erika
01What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Expect to wear multiple hats. Don't just assume you're within that box working within that box. Don't be afraid to step over the line or outside of it and learn something new or different that would probably help you or support you in that position. Like, take in as much as you can just to help yourself improve in the position.
02What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
It's extremely male-dominant. It's very hard, and even now, the number of women I see in the executive VP roles is very little. I feel like it's always been a male-dominant industry, so maybe that's why. Maybe women shy away from it. But wish that we would see more women in those higher executive positions, because we do a good job.
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