Her Story
About Katherine
Katherine Gilmartin serves as Director of Integrated Demand Supply Planning for a BioTech cell and gene therapy company based in Houston, Texas. Since 2014, she has built her career in supply chain management, initially in the oil and gas sector where she developed SNOP programs and frameworks for ERP and MRP systems across multiple companies. Earlier this year, she transitioned into cell and gene therapy, where she now oversees infrastructure setup for an FDA-approved startup's ERP system and handles end-to-end demand supply planning from raw materials to final drug product for patients. Gilmartin holds a bachelor's degree in music education from Nazareth College of Rochester. She entered the manufacturing field after the birth of her second child to accommodate family schedules and progressed through customer service and scheduling roles. She attributes her success to a high drive and rigorous personal standards, values authenticity in cross-functional relationships, and advises maintaining creativity as a problem solver while never allowing others to diminish one's contributions in professional settings.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Katherine
01What do you attribute your success to?
I would attribute it to a high drive for success, and ability to accept less than standards for myself. It's both a positive and a negative, having such high standards for myself and my work, because they're almost unachievable standards, but it makes it that you never want to make the same mistake twice, and you're very eager to help somebody else from making that same mistake.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
To never let the other people in a room make you feel less than. Because we enter a lot of boardrooms and meeting rooms and conference rooms and team calls with a lot of highly educated, very high-ranking executives. And we can't be afraid to voice opinion, ask for clarification, or continue with exposure point.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would tell them to never lose a sense of creativity to be successful in this field, you have to be kind of a fixer. You need to be able to fix problems, because there's always a supply continuity problem. And sometimes it takes some really creative thinking to fix those problems, and to also never let anybody use your solution is not a good solution, or a feasible solution, or even an option.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Some of the biggest challenges are breaking into some of the like in oil and gas, it's a very male-dominated, almost like a fraternity type of thing. It's very difficult to break into those set standards of executives. But the biggest opportunity is Business Texas, and we are a supply chain oriented city and tons of opportunities, and never limit yourself in what you think you are capable in doing.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Values to me that are important, I would say, are maintaining an authenticity to yourself, especially with the supply chain world. Your success is going to be based on how well you can interact with many cross-functional departments in forming genuine relationships cross-functionally is going to support you in success. It's really important to foster genuine relationships cross-functionally, especially in the supply chain world, that your relationships are going to foster success internally, because you work cross-functionally with so many different departments. That if you can't genuinely connect and have an authentic relationship with them is going to be very hard for you to succeed in your role.
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