Evelyn Tucker

I would have to say my personality. There have been times where people have said they don't think they would want to report to anyone else, and that means a lot to me. When I was out on vacation and came back, my team was upset that I wasn't promoted and said they didn't understand how I wasn't promoted. It's nice to know that the people who report to you feel that way. I think it's because I'm hands-on. Most people in high positions just delegate, but I do both. I delegate, but there's nothing that they do that I don't know how to do. I would have to say my personality and just how I treat people.

The best advice I received was from Mike Bober at Conair, who was my mentor. When Carol Sandler, who had taken me under her wing and taught me so much about finance and EDI, passed away from breast cancer, Mike called me Kid and told me, 'Kid, you got it. If you want the job, if you want the position, you can have it.' I felt like these were big shoes to fill because Carol was so knowledgeable, but I sat in that seat and took off like a rocket. That vote of confidence from Mike, telling me I had what it took, helped me get to where I am today.

I would have to say that coming to accounts payable, don't let this just be your stop, because it's very versatile. You could do accounts payable, you could do accounting, you could do accounts receivable. Make it your own. We deal with a budget here, like a $5 million budget, so get to know the funding lines and how money is allocated to different projects. It's not just one thing in the finance department, so I would say learn everything. You never know, you could be a CFO. I have a young man who just started, and I always try to tell them to learn as much as you can. We have a budget department, we have an accounting team, we have a treasury team. Get to know each person from each team, learn what they do, so when you are looking to elevate and post out, you have some things you can discuss in those settings and meetings and interviews.

We just had a meeting about upgrading our software, which we deal with Oracle and PeopleSoft. The direction they're heading is AI, because when you're processing invoices, you're keying in all this information, so if you get software that can read it, it'll make life a little easier and hopefully retain the people who are still in the seats. That's where everybody is heading. My next goal is to take a class in AI because that seems to be where everybody is heading.

I would just have to say I was raised right. My moral compass, you know, and I just operate off of integrity and character. I think if you don't have those things, you're just a lost soul out here. I just think being kind to people and remembering how you were raised. My mom and dad, they did a great job with me. One of the ladies I worked with at SAP, an Italian lady, would always say, 'Evelyn, your parents raised you right.' Sometimes you don't want to pat yourself on the back, but you do what you do.