Jennifer White
Jennifer White is a seasoned leader in the furniture industry, currently serving as an Operations Manager at Steinhafels Furniture, one of Wisconsin’s largest and most respected furniture retailers. With over 15 years of experience, Jennifer has developed deep expertise across all aspects of furniture retail operations—from merchandising and showroom design to warehouse logistics and team development. Her career has been defined by a strong focus on process improvement, team leadership, and creating high-impact customer experiences. She played a pivotal role in co-developing the Operations Manager role at Steinhafels and continues to shape its evolution across the company.
Jennifer's leadership style blends passion, consistency, and clear communication. She has led major initiatives, including the launch of a 110,000-square-foot showroom and managing a multi-million-dollar renovation while maintaining record-breaking sales performance. Her ability to manage large teams, execute high-level projects, and mentor future leaders has made her a trusted figure in the organization. Drawing on her background in interior design from Western Technical College, Jennifer brings a creative and customer-centric approach to everything she does—whether training new staff, planning visual displays, or hosting community events.
Jennifer has also assisted in developing an Inclusion committee with her company and other leaders in differing geographical areas and departments in the company to ensure all employee-owners' voices are heard as well as included in discussions, trainings and communication.
• Furniture/Retail
• Operations
• Western Technical College - A.A.S.
• Nationwide Retail Groups
• IT Associations
What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to a strong foundation in education, a passion for mentoring others, and a commitment to continuous growth—both professionally and personally through creative outlets like photography, hiking, reading, and art.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I’ve ever received is to begin to create valuable relationships early and work at them consistently. Stay curious, keep learning, and always be open to learning from those around you; I try to learn a minimum of three new things every day. Share this knowledge with those around you to enhance others' autonomy with their roles as well as increase an efficient work load for yourself.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Educate yourself every day, believe in your voice, and don’t be afraid to stand out—loud and proud! For all women: there is room for all of us! Be each others' cheerleaders...It is not "me OR you" - it is "me AND you!"
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
One of the biggest challenges in my field right now is keeping up with the constant evolution of technology, along with frequent policy and procedural changes that require daily adaptability. Clients' expectations in the retail and furniture industry are also ever-changing so it is necessary to bring innovation to new sales and operations techniques that combine relatable client experience with new technology.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The values most important to me in both work and personal life are staying open to new experiences and continually challenging myself to grow. Organization, discipline, humility and self-reflection are necessary to be successful as a leader and professional.