Her Story
About Leandra
I have been in the civil construction industry for over 22 years, and I have worked for my current company for almost 20 years. I am originally from Brazil, and I moved to the United States 5 years ago while continuing to work for the same company, now focusing on the American market. As Director of Sales and Marketing, I lead a sales team and am responsible for closing big deals involving heavy machinery and high added value products. I travel extensively to meet clients from all over the world, attend industry shows, and work with our plant in Savannah, Georgia, where I help clients from Latin America learn about our operations and market. I am a seasoned construction executive with deep knowledge of clients, partnerships, and solutions. What drives me in sales is my love for working with people and building deep relationships with clients. I don't enjoy retail marketing, but rather the complexity of high added value products where you have to be very involved and build lasting relationships. You have to know your client very well, understand what they need and what they are planning for the future, so you can build something together. As a woman in a predominantly male industry, I have faced many challenges, including prejudice and discrimination, but my resilience, dedication, and hard work have allowed me to achieve my goals and earn my space in this field.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Leandra
01What do you attribute your success to?
I think one of the biggest things I attribute my success to, and it can seem silly but it's not for me, is God opening the right doors for me. The second one is my dedication. I am a person that maybe doesn't have the highest IQ, but I have very good perception about people, and I dedicate myself to emotional intelligence and understanding people. I think I was more hardworking and dedicated than just the smart one or the one that is the smartest in the class. I think both things are important - you have to have something, but if you just have a high IQ and don't do dedicated things, nothing's gonna happen. So I think this hard work was one of the things I attribute to my success, and God opening good doors for me. I also had to have a lot of resilience, especially as a woman in the civil construction market, which is a market made for men. It was hard for me, and I had to have a lot of resilience to grab my space. I saw a lot of people giving up, but I stayed and kept going even when I heard a lot of things and many people told me no, you're not gonna get it, you're not gonna stay, it's hard. But I kept doing it.
02What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
One of the values I appreciate most is being together at home, doing something together with my family. Even if it's just taking care of the garden in the backyard, or cooking together, or watching a movie together, I love to spend time together because I know time goes by so fast. My oldest daughter was so little just a few years ago, and when I see the photos, I think to myself, where did the time go? So I appreciate spending as much time as possible with family, whatever we're doing. We also spend time at church because we go to a Baptist church and we love being there. My kids are growing up in this church, and we know spiritual things are very important in their lives. Quality time with family and spiritual wellness are what matter most to me.
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