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ICPF Features #WomenInCorrugated With Kristen Erwin Of Jamestown Container Cos. Kristen Erwin, the General Manager of the Lake Ontario Region at James- town Container Companies, has amassed over 30 years of experience in the corrugated packaging industry. Before beginning her first role in sales in 1992 at Buckeye Corrugated, Inc., she earned a degree in Man-
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agement Science with an emphasis in Marketing from the business school at the State University of New York (SUNY) College at Geneseo. In the years since, her career has spanned sev- eral positions in the industry, including both sales and general management. The International Corru- gated Packaging Foundation (ICPF) sat down with Kristen to discuss her journey within the industry,
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the importance of knowing your product, the value of mentorship, and her takeaways as a woman forging her path in a male-dominated industry. ICPF: We often hear from packaging professionals that they were not aware of opportunities in the corrugated packaging industry while pursu- ing their degree. What led you to pursue a career in corrugated? Kristen Erwin (KE): It actually is in my blood. My father is in the industry, so I grew up with it my whole life. When I got out of college, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. I wanted to get into sales, so I worked for a company that (my father) was working for at the time. I went through a sales training program — I worked in customer service, design, out in the floor, in scheduling–you name it. In sales, it’s all about knowing your product, so it was a very good, fundamental program that I went through. And then, of course, learning through sales how to connect with people. ICPF: What did your first sales role in the industry look like? KE: I worked internally for a solid year after the sales training program. I would go out on sales calls with some of the sales reps that we had, and then eventually, the gentleman that was in sales at the time took a sales management position, so I took his job and reported to him. I started with a small book of business from him, just something to cut my teeth on. But that wasn’t comfortable to me, I wanted to build my own book of business and I did just that. ICPF: Can you walk us through what the day-to-day responsibilities look like in your role as Regional General Manager? When you start your day in the morning, what do you tackle? KE: Every day in this business is a different day, always with new chal- lenges. I’m responsible for the overall safety of this (Rochester) facility and our Lyons facility including quality, profitability, supporting the sales team, and growing the business. ICPF: Have there been any mentors, specifically women, that have helped you professionally or personally over the course of your career? KE: Before I went into a general management role, I did an extensive leadership training program with Dr. Jim Kestenbaum, who is a local gen- tleman in the area, and focused on fundamentals of leadership. In that journey, I did have a couple of women who expanded my support net- work. One who is outside of the industry, Diane DeSanto, who works for GNC Foods. She is somebody who I could reach out to and lean on, and she runs a very big operation herself. And then someone in the industry, Kim Nelson from Royal Container. Those two ladies are wonderful. Kim has a lot on her plate, but we do lunches and dinners, we get together and golf. I think our shared experiences are really important. CONTINUED ON PAGE 16
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April 15, 2024
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