Silvia Lopez

I attribute my success to the core family values I learned from home, from my mom and dad. What I saw from them and what they taught me is a big part of where I am today. I also think being adaptable and flexible to changes has been crucial. The constant change is there all the time, but I have the attitude of being adaptable to that. My personality allows me to embrace change rather than resist it, and I think that combined with the strong foundation my parents gave me has been the key to my success.

The best career advice I've ever received was simple but powerful: don't take it personal. I also had a boss who told me something that really changed my perspective. He said, 'You don't know how capable you are. You have to be more confident about yourself.' Sometimes we don't believe in ourselves, but someone else is seeing our talent and skills, recognizing that we're capable of doing more and doing big things. I think recognizing myself and understanding the strengths that I have is the most important thing we have to do as a person and as a professional. Learning to be confident with myself has been invaluable advice.

My advice to young women entering this industry is to first know yourself as a woman and identify the strengths that you have. Recognize what makes you strong and capable. It's also crucial to have a support network, a circle of people around you who are positive influences. Try to be surrounded by positive people in all aspects: good bosses, good teams, good co-workers, good friends, and supportive family. If you want to be a mother and a professional at the same time, it's much easier to realize yourself as a woman in all environments when you're surrounded by people who support you. Having good bosses and good coaches makes it faster and easier to develop your career. I was lucky to have very good bosses at every step who supported me in being a mom while raising my kids and developing my career at the same time. Being in that positive environment makes all the difference.

The biggest challenges in my field right now are driven by how the world is changing and the uncertainty we're facing. The tariff situation and trade policies are creating major challenges, especially since we work across the U.S.-Mexico border. Everything depends on how the market is going to change, and we have to adapt to circumstances that are outside our control. We're dealing with Mexican government audits regarding import-export and inventory compliance, which means we have to run daily operations while also attending to audit findings. Complying with regulations from both the Mexican and U.S. governments is a constant challenge. The tariff changes imposed by Trump require us to do detailed studies on every import-export transaction, like declaring exactly how much aluminum is in each product we export. We also face operational challenges like driver shortages and other logistics issues. All of these external changes impact our operations and logistics, and we have to be adaptable and stay updated with new regulations from different governments while keeping the operation running smoothly on a daily basis.

The values most important to me in my work and personal life are family and respect. Family is at the core of everything I do. I also believe in being the best person I can be with everybody and treating people with respect. These values guide how I lead my team and how I live my life. At the end of the day, if I can help my team and be a positive influence for the 100 people I manage, impacting their families in a positive way, that's what matters most to me. I want my team members to go home happy and be good fathers and mothers, because how we treat people at work affects their whole lives and their families.