ICPF Highlights (CONT’D FROM PAGE 34)
Board Converting NEWS INTERNET DIRECTORY
ICPF: Can you walk us through what the day-to-day re- sponsibilities look like in your role as VP of Sales? When you start your day in the morning, what do you tackle first? LG: Every day is different, but the framework remains the same. The first priority is checking the status of open orders. Are there any fires to be put out? Did (the custom- er) get the product that they’ve ordered as expected and in a timely manner? Or is there an issue with the mill that needs to be addressed? When I walk in every day, I start with open orders and then move on from that. I’m in close contact with my cus- tomers; I’m in close contact with my mills. You have to ask the pertinent questions: are there any holes in supply? What do you see forthcoming? Any new trends in your market? Are there any new opportunities I can help with? As a salesperson, I am only as successful as my customer. ICPF: As someone who has been in this industry for 30 years, are there customers you’ve kept throughout your career? What do those relationships look like? LG: It’s a mix, it’s a real mix. I have customers today that I had in my first year of sales. So obviously that relationship was established, and that trust was established, and now we’re sharing pictures of our grandkids and talking about retirement. I also have customers who give my name out for a referral, customers who place an order once a year, maybe twice a year, and customers that order from me monthly. But I don’t create any of those opportunities sin- gularly—my job is to identify them and capitalize on them. My career has mostly been in corrugated, so I work with corrugated manufacturers. What comes to your door- step from Amazon is packaged, and we’re a part of that business. The cost of packaging is not something that we take into account as a consumer on any scale, so I think that’s really interesting. I think there is more awareness of (the industry) post COVID. I think we all went through that awakening of being able to make a Christmas tree out of our boxes. And I think the (next) generation could have better situational awareness of this industry given how we all shop now. ICPF : Have there been any mentors, specifically wom- en, that have helped you professionally or personally over the course of your career? LG: My first and foremost mentor would be the gentle- man who hired me, his name was Mike Greene. He was a company principal at the time, and he did not treat me any differently because I was a woman. That set an expecta- tion for me and gave me the confidence to be myself. And in the early ‘90s, I called on a recycled paper mill that’s still in existence here in Dallas, and there was a woman in charge of sales who was larger than life. She had an outgoing personality; she was no nonsense. I learned from her professionalism with a backbone. So, I had very posi- tive experiences early on in my career. ICPF: Why do you think it is important for women to be CONTINUED ON PAGE 38
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April 7, 2025
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