Her Story
About Megan
Megan Purvis serves as a Material Planner at Gentex in Michigan, where she has spent 5 years in her current role and a total of 17 years in supply chain and manufacturing. Her specialty lies in manufacturing and automotive supply chain, with her main focus on helping with integrations of companies that Gentex has acquired at the supply chain material planning level. She holds a Lean Six Sigma green belt credential and earned both her bachelor's and master's degrees in supply chain from Bellevue University, which is based in Nebraska. Purvis is also a member of Women of Manufacturing in West Michigan. She attributes her success to hard work, having attended school part-time while working full-time throughout her college career. Among the best career advice she has received is to embrace new roles for their potential growth, knowledge, opportunities, and connections, rather than fearing change. She advises young women entering the male-dominated industry to ask questions without discouragement and to persist in their efforts.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Megan
01What do you attribute your success to?
Hard work. I went to school part-time and worked full-time plus my entire college career. Nothing comes easy, you have to put in the work and it'll pay off.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
You never know what a new role will hold in terms of growth, knowledge, opportunities, and people you'll meet. Don't get scared about changing roles because you don't know what opportunities you're missing by not taking on new things and changing.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Don't be discouraged and ask questions. Especially in a male-dominated industry, women don't always feel comfortable asking questions because they don't want to come across as insufficient for the role. If you don't ask questions, you're never going to know, you're never going to figure it out, you're never going to grow. Just stick with it and keep working at it.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
AI has proven to be a useful tool. It helps to bring new solutions to problems and helps navigate difficult situations. Some versions can be tailored to certain industries or roles to help elevate the team's performance. AI can certainly have drawbacks though. With the growth of AI and data centers, there has been availability strain on certain electronic components.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Honesty, communication, and clarity are the top three key things needed for a successful outcome.
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