Her Story
About Tamesha
Tamesha Murphy is the Senior Director, Global Work Systems Lead for Mars Snacking. She began her career in 1999 and has accumulated more than 25 years of experience in the CPG and snacking industry. Her professional journey includes roles at Procter and Gamble, where she started as a controls engineer at the Pringles facility in Jackson, Tennessee, progressing to engineering site lead. She later held various positions at Kellogg Company and Kellanova, including Technical Center of Excellence Lead and global PCNIS lead, before assuming her current role following the acquisition by Mars Wrigley. Murphy earned an electrical engineering degree from the University of Memphis and an MBA from Union University. She maintains a PMP certification through PMI and is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated and the Society of Women Engineers. She attributes her success to her faith and the guidance of mentors, and she values being true to herself while living by the principle that to whom much is given, much is required. Murphy advises young women entering engineering to try new things and fail forward, emphasizing continuous learning and growth.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Tamesha
01What do you attribute your success to?
I am very spiritual so God first and foremost. Second would be mentorship. Having good mentors and being a mentor to others keeps me wired up. Early on I could think of many times I was ready to walk out the door but if it wasn't for those mentors I still would not be here today.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Try it. We read a book many years ago around Fail Forward. You can fail and you may mess up but keep moving forward. Engineering just seemed like a tough field but everyone brings their own slant to it. If I make a mistake and I need to fail how do I fail forward and how do I keep moving and just keep learning.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Early on it was tough being a female in a predominantly male environment especially in a leadership position. The opportunity is there are not many females especially African American females that stay in engineering for long periods of time. Career pathing and mentorship to get diverse thought and mindset in engineering.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Being true to myself is important and one thing I try to live by is the saying of to whom much is given much is required. It shapes how you think about things and just really giving that mantra of yep this is what I'm here for you know just look at things differently.
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