Women in Leadership: Road to the C-Suite with Emelia Nosser, Kristin Corbitt, Angie Griffin - Ep. 206

Um, the second piece is of course, if you are new to The Chemical Show, follow us on LinkedIn, subscribe on your favorite podcast player. Um, and then the third piece is mark your calendar for our next Chemical Show live, which will be held on April 9th, uh, details will be forthcoming. So let's get started. I am super excited to welcome some really amazing women to The Chemical Show today.

So we have Kristin Mays Corbitt, who is the president and CEO of Mays Chemical, um, which is now a Ravago company. And I think Kristin might share a little bit of that story with us. Uh, Angie Griffin, who is Chief Commercial Officer for Third Coast and then Emelia Nosser, who is Chief Procurement Officer for Pactiv Evergreen. I just really thought it's a great chance to share some insights, share some stories about how these ladies got to the positions that they are.

And as we're calling it, it's the Road to the C Suite. If you guys are a basketball fan, right, we are in. March Madness is approaching. So it's the Road to the final four. Well, this is the Road to the C-Suite, um, which may be harder than the Road to the Final Four. So I don't know. We'll see. Anyway, um, let's go ahead and get started. I love to start all of our conversations with origin stories. So, you know, tell us a little bit about yourself. What got you interested in the industry?

Um, and how you got to where you are today. I'm going to start with Emelia.

Um, it contributes to their life in some way. I like that. I like being able to tell people, you know, they say, what do you do? And I go, ah, you know, we make the, we make the paper for Starbucks cups. Like it's, it just seems more real to me. Um, and so that's how I got into it. And I've been in it for over 35 years and, and I've never felt the need to leave. I love it.

I was living in Florida, but my uncle was, um, an employee at what they call, excuse me, Little Lyondell, which was, the old polymer business and he was peddling polypropylene for the carpet fiber business. Um, and they were looking for people to fill out their supply chain base at Equistar in Houston. They were trying to move people from Cincinnati, which people from Cincinnati weren't really willing to move to Houston.

And he told me they were looking for customer service reps and the pay was, I think, 30, 000 a year. And there was insurance. As an English major, I never thought I'd make 30, 000 a year or have medical insurance. So I hopped at the chance and moved to Houston and I thought it'd be temporary. Knew nothing about petrochemicals, knew nothing about the industry. Um, but, but like Emelia fell in love with, with the, the, the company, with the industry. Um, I think.

for the majority of the population. They have no clue how the things that they consume and use on a daily basis get in front of them. Um, it's a fascinating industry to be in. So, um, fell in love with that, fell in love with Houston, fell in love with Tex Mex and, um, haven't gone back. And, and

So I had spent, um, The better part of my teenage years, uh, working in the business, just doing filing, doing spreadsheets for accounting. Um, and one summer I actually learned the customer service role. So I would help out. I didn't learn the entire role, but just enough to be dangerous. I would help out placing orders, calling for invoices, checking the status of orders.

And, um, so fast forward to my junior year in college, um, we had someone who went out very suddenly, uh, at the company in the customer service department, and she handled one of our major customers. At the time, my cousin was running the customer service department. Um, and she said, Hey, we're looking for somebody to hire. We have no idea how long this person is going to be out.

Can you, uh, and we're not even really sure that we want to hire somebody else if her leave is going to be fairly short. Can you come fill in for a couple of weeks? Um, you know, maybe a month at the most. And that was January of, um, 1997. The long story short, the employee never came back and I am still here almost 30 years later. But I really gravitated towards the business.

And here's where it resonates with what Emelia said, because, our primary focus at Uh, legacy Mays was food, pharma and personal care. And so it was really fascinating to me to be able to tell people, um, all right, we'll turn your cereal box over and all of those ingredients on your cereal box. They probably came from my warehouse in Indy or my warehouse in Detroit, which is close to Battle Creek at the time where they were manufacturing cereal. Or maybe my warehouse in, in, uh, New Jersey.

So, um, that that's what I do. And that was the easiest way to explain, but it, you really do have a sense of pride when you, you are handling material that then goes into an end use product that, you know, you can. Direct people to or you can hold in your hand or you know, you you have in your cabinets every day. Um, and it's just it's really fulfilling. So, um, that's kind of a blend of the two. But I had no idea. I was still in college. I had no idea. Um, what I was going to do after college.

I was a business major, um, by by trade. So, um, I really didn't have any chemical experience, but you didn't need it because it at the end of the day for what I What I did and where I started, it was just, it was business. It was buying at one cost and then marking it up and selling at another price. So that's how I got in the business.

Um, so, you know, each of you started in a different place, um, and you've obviously been successfully climbing the ladder, so to speak. Um, but I'm sure at points that wasn't necessarily apparent that that would be true, right? I don't think any of us start in our career and think, I'm making it up to the top of the I'm not even sure I want to make it to the top of the pile sometimes, right? Sometimes you're just putting one foot in the front of another and, and trying to keep going.

Um, were there any really pivotal or defining moments in your career that either, you know, one, maybe you doubt your path or two helped you secure your path and maybe helped you, you know, take the next step to get onto this path to the C suite, um, and made a difference. Angie, how about you? Let's start with you.

And when I moved to, um, Third Coast, which had been my customer, um, they hired me to run one segment of, of the business. About five years in, um, the founder, um, CEO is still, still our leader. Uh, just came up to me, pulled me into his office without any warning. And he said, uh, I want to know if you want to run Third Coast Chemicals, which is one of our affiliates. And I immediately said, yes, without thinking about it, and it wasn't a position that even existed.

That company had been kind of rolled up under shell shared services didn't have a distinct leader. Um, it had a distinct P and L, but not anybody who was the 1 throat to choke, so to speak, that was managing it. So, um, I think that was the moment where I, um, was tested, hand selected, which was, affirming, uh, and then I knew in that moment that I had his support. And I think that was, um, uh, the thing that just pushed me over the edge.

It wasn't anything I needed to consider or be nervous about because he had all the confidence in me. And, and, um, that helped me have confidence in me. I panicked later. Um, but in the moment I said, yes. Um, and again, it just wasn't anything I'd planned or even thought of, but that was the moment it shifted. And I really started to hone my leadership skills and learn more of the, um, the business side from, from managing a PNL, um, trying to put together a team.

We didn't even have a team at that point. So, um, just really building that business from the ground up. Um, but that was it.

I think one of the very pivotal moments for me was I worked in customer service for a couple of years and then, um, I graduated. I graduated from college, and, um, my father said, All right, well, we're gonna you can continue to work here, but I'd really like you to get involved. Um, mace chemical is just one of my investments. I'd really like for you to get involved in, um, some of the other investments.

And so I worked for 2 years or a year, excuse me, as an analyst, just really learning about All things other than May's chemical company. Um, and that was nice. And so I had an office on the other side of our building, but I would always gravitate back to the chemical business. And I mean, it was probably the most mundane of tasks, right? So it'd be like matching paperwork, Matt, sending out invoices. But just so I could kind of keep, um my thumb on what was going on in in the chemical business.

Because I had by then I had, you know, made several good friends. I had been in a pseudo um, customer service leadership position and uh, you know, really just trying to understand um, what was going on. That, that was kind of my first clue that I was going to be here for longer than I thought. Um, after I spent a year as an analyst, I said, well, I had a young child and I said, well, um, I don't. want both of us to be in school at the same time.

So if I'm gonna go back and get a secondary degree, I need to go ahead and get it now while she's still in daycare while I've still got a bit of flexibility and I can like put her to bed at seven. Um, so I worked for, um, two years full time while I got my MBA from Indiana University. And, um, And I looked at a couple of different schools, but I decided to stay because I had the job. I knew I could work around the job.

And, um, I also knew I had the support system to be able to work and go to school full time and take care of my daughter. And so, you know, you never put it together, you know, going through it, but looking back, the decision not to leave Indiana, Indianapolis was another pivotal moment. And then when I graduated, I had several job offers, um, and at the time. We were making the decision. We had gone through ERP implementation. And as many of you know, those don't always go as planned.

And so it was so it was, it was pretty disastrous for us. I mean, a loss of customers. It was and then we kind of had a migration of employees away from the business as well. Because all because of kind of the ERP system and the frustration with that. And, um, so I would say that was probably the most pivotal moment was deciding to stay in the midst of the chaos and help figure out how we get out of this mess. Um, because, you know, by that time, I had been working for about.

Five or six years in the business really had an entrenched myself, um, had some very good relationships internally and externally. And so, um, really just hanging around and wanting to solve the problem. And that's kind of when I knew, okay, I'm going to be here for long term. And I really need to look at, uh, now I've got, I'm equipped with the tools because I did, um, get an MBA.

I had been in several management meetings and all right, let's dig in and figure out what the challenges of the business. challenges are and and how to go about solving them. And so I think that was the most pivotal was the decision to stay after I got my NBA and really dig in and um, to deal with those problems. I obviously knew that I was going to have to be in upper management and and somewhere in the C suite eventually.

Yeah. So, and I know we're going to come back and talk a little bit more about you and May, so we'll get to that in a bit, but you know, right, we're in a period right now where it feels like there's a lot of uncertainty. Right. There's, um, companies keep making announcements about layoffs. People are making transitions or thinking about making transitions or being forced to make transitions between companies, between businesses, um, et cetera. And I, each one of you have had.

Some significant transitions, whether it be, um, across companies. Right. So Angie, you went from very big company to a very small company. Uh, Kristin in, you know, going from a small midsize family owned company to a giant company. Now that Revago's, um, acquired Mays. Um, and then of course, Emelia, you've gone mostly through public companies, which is interesting. We were talking before we got on that, this sale of Pact of Evergreen and going private is its own, um, bit of uncertainty.

What have you guys found to be really critical in maybe just making yourself ready for those significant transitions, um, and figuring out how to be successful in a new environment, which, you know, the grass is not always greener on the other side. Um, and you have to figure out how to navigate in that new environment. So what have you found to be really effective? How about Emelia, you start.

What for me, what I try to do is, If I'm going to make a change, I want to make a change where I'm either going to take on a new role. That's going to give me a breadth of experience or get into a new industry to see if I can learn something new about how I do what I do, but in a different, in a different place. Um, what I found helpful was I never tried to do. Like everything at the same time.

So I never tried to change an industry with a new job, with a new function and in a new state, um, that can, that, that can be a lot. Um, but what you can also do when you make change, it gives you a chance to, I don't want to say reinvent yourself. Cause there's something wrong with who you are. But you learn things at every job you're in and every company you're in. And it gives you an opportunity to learn from those mistakes and maybe do things a little bit differently.

When you're in a new role, you're in a new company. And so I always thought it was kind of fun to be able to, you know, try, try to do something different. Try to be somebody different, try to, you know, evolve in, in, in all of those changes. And then it's also really helpful if you're making a transition. It helps to have an advocate. Maybe somebody pulled you into that company.

Or maybe somebody recommended you, or, you know, someone who's there, um, because navigating a new company can be, can be complicated. And so having somebody who can help you, but also having somebody who's got your back, I think can make that transition a little bit easier, but change is good. And if there are ways for you to have opportunities where you can expand your knowledge, expand your capability, I think you should do it. I think you should always try it.

So I think just being open to that flexibility, um, and that makes any move that you make, whether it's just from one position to another or adapting to a new manager. Are changing companies, um, moving like Emelia mentioned, packing up your family, moving somewhere else. It's all about embracing the growth and not the fear, I think, because nothing's permanent, even the bumps in the road along the way. You'll get past those. But if you can just be resilient. Always be true to yourself.

Always be open to new experiences, new perspectives. You'll be able to navigate that forever. I didn't make the jump to Third Coast. That was not an easy one for me to make. And it came out of a real personal situation. My husband's in a commercial role at, at Lyondell, um, and he's a little bit further in his career than me. And it was getting complicated. You know, if he moved into a certain role, there was a perception. Well, we can't have Angie in that role because Brian's in this role.

And there was a lot of shuffling going on to accommodate that. And I was like, this is, this is a little silly. Um, yeah. And so, uh, just knowing that I needed more room to grow, um, which seems counterintuitive to go to a smaller company to do that. But I needed to be able to spread my wings as much as he was. And so that was really what precipitated that change. Um, that's more of a personal, uh, issue than anything else.

Why does this happen the way it does? Or why do we have this person in this role? And, and, um, really? Having a desire to help you learn, having that, that person that has a desire to help you learn and navigate and understand, and, um, then really help you with some of your challenges, I think again, is, is invaluable. Um, the other thing that has been very helpful for me, um, in, in navigating all kinds of change, because change is inevitable, um, is really just having a positive mindset.

Um, and. You know, that is easier said than done. And that work does not happen one time. And then you always have a positive mindset. It is literally day in and day out listening to, um, motivation, listening to reaffirming words, um, really doing some quick reflection on, well, hey, remember when this situation was, um, you know, you thought it was unbearable or you, you didn't know why it was happening.

And then you got through it and it has, you know, made you better, made you stronger, made you understand something a bit more, just reflecting on, you know, change and how it has occurred in the past and. Trying to stay positive because part of being in leadership is, um, you know, helping your your team to stay positive and you've got to exude that positivity. Um, or at least exude a sense of. Neutrality.

Um, when going through when going through change because your team is going to go the way that you go. So if you are negative about change or you are questioning change or you are, you know, just just very leery about change, your team is going to be the same way. And I learned that very early on when I was a team lead in customer service. We had we had one negative person that was in our group. Um, and we found that all of us Have become so negative about everything. It's like, wait a minute.

You know, we can't all sit here and commiserate on these things. Somebody's got to, you know, be positive, or at least be forward thinking and say, all right, it's not good right now. But how do we make it good? How do we make it better? And, um, And so you can kind of get in a rut, but it's just having the mindset and doing the work to keep the positive mindset about change. Um, you know, oldest book in the world.

But, uh, when I was maybe 3 or 4 years in, I got a, uh, a book recommendation who moved my cheese. Right? And. Um, we read it and we were going through some change at that time. It was, you know, 98 99. We were about to hit Y two K. We were, um, all nervous about our computer systems and about what was going to happen. And, and, you know, we were just changing some org structure things. And so we all read that, um, that book as a company and, uh, you know, it still resonates today.

I literally just mentioned it yesterday that you've got to stay positive about. Change because, um, you know, it, it really helps you get through it.

And so if you're thinking it's going to be awesome, it's going to be awesome. You're going to find the awesome. If you're thinking it's going to be horrible, you're going to find the horrible. Um, and so finding that mind space to be positive, growth oriented, looking on the better side, helps navigate a lot of this. Um, okay. We're going to keep moving with, this has been a great conversation. Kristin, we're going to put the elephant on the table a little bit. Um, and we talked about it.

There's going to be some people that say. Well, your name's on the company. Of course, it's easy to get to the top. And yet, I know that you've had to earn that, right? Um, and in fact, maybe you can share even just if, if there were, you know, if you have any siblings that would have potentially also been, um, in leadership of Mays. Um, and then you've also recently helped the company navigate a really significant decision in selling to Ravago.

Um, and then taking a leadership position in a much larger company. Um, But let's just start with this whole idea that it's easy to get to the top when your name's on the company. I'm, I'm guessing it maybe is sometimes even harder.

Um, he did not have the experience that I had, so he had to be fully trained from the beginning, but he, he made more than me. And I was like, hey, that, there's, there's not going to be any nepotism here, I guess. Um, not that I was expecting it, but, um. I think a big part of my career path and my kind of my jagged journey to the C suite was really gaining, uh, functional, relatable knowledge about every single aspect of this business. Um, and.

That is really what gave me the credibility and gave people the confidence in my ability to lead the company because I had worked alongside with so many, um, of, of my colleagues over the course of of the years. Um, and I really did have a functional role working in or managing every single aspect of our business. Um, and, and so that gave me me. And and I still look to do that today. Um, so, so it gave me the confidence that I knew what I was talking about.

Um, but it gave other people the confidence that, oh, she's not just leading us because she happened to be the second child born to Bill Mays. No, she's paid her dues and she has worked alongside of us and she understands this and then she can me. Advocate for what we need, or she can relate to what we need in this department or that department. I always tell folks all the time. My job as a leader is to get you the resources you need so we can get the job done.

And, um, so I think that is really what helped me gain both the internal credibility and the internal confidence. Um, and then the external credibility had I been, you know, Okay. Somewhere else and then come in and, and run started to run the business. I think I would've had a, a much more challenging path, um, because, and, and a much more, you know, steeper learning curve. Um, but, but I think it was impor it, it, it was, and it continues to be important to me to, and, and I'm.

I'm just weird like that. So I really like processes and I really like, um, understanding how things are supposed to work. So I will, you know, I will ask those types of questions. I will say, well, let me do this job for a day so I can understand. You know what challenges you face because it's not enough for you to communicate those challenge challenges to me. I want to experience them. I want to see. All right. How do I think through how to handle them?

So I think, um, I think there was, uh, not there. There were a lot of, um, maybe I'll say false narratives in the beginning when I came on about, um, oh, well, why does she have this position? Or, you know, is she going to climb to the C suite? And she, is she going to be, you know, given it? Or is she going to have to earn it? And I still talk to people who we hire today. And they're like. She's so involved in the business. Like she knows everything. She sees everything.

And I'm like, yeah, because that's how I make myself a better leader is to really understand the challenges that we have. And then how do we get the resources to try to solve those challenges? Um, but, but I did deal with that. I dealt with that as, as a person with, um, the last name, Okay. On the building and so much so that I, when I was married to my first husband, I changed my name, right? Like, I didn't want there to be any, um, you know, any stigma attached.

So, so I, you know, took my husband's name, my first husband's name. And that's just, you know, externally, that's. Who I was known as, and no one, no one knew, um, and no one was, you know, any the wiser that, um, I was related to ownership. And that was really when I was in an external, more external facing position at that point in time. So, um, it, it is tough. I will tell you there were, there, it was not easy.

Uh, uh, I, I was, um, removed from a position at one point in time and, and moved because, um, I was very vocal about what I thought was the correct way and the incorrect way to, to do things. Um, and so, uh, if there were sides to take, mine was not taken, it was the other person's side. Um, so, so it wasn't, it wasn't an easy road and it wasn't just a given. Um, and that was even a learning experience. Uh, not about not being vocal, but it's how you voice some opposition, right?

And how you do that. Um, In an environment, in a business environment, because I was just used to, well, I mean, you know, you, you have, hey, dad, I don't think that's right. You know, you just say it and you, you can't do that when you're in business with your, your family members. You've got to have, um, you got to have a little bit of a line about how you communicate. So, um, I think, uh, navigating the transition to Robago, um, has been very interesting.

And, and Emelia, you, um, we were talking earlier about a little bit about private equity. And I think we always knew that, um, if we were going to sell, we wanted to try to sell to a family owned company. Um, Somebody who shared our values. And I think with the Russ family who are, they're the owners of Revival, we have found a great, um, partnership. And so it always helps when you are aligned with ownership who that ownership is on values.

Yeah. You won't aligned on every single decision, but on, on values and on just good old fashioned principles. Um, I, I think that it's. Extremely helpful when going into a transition like this. So, um, yeah, I and I think I did because there were several other people. Obviously, Roboto existed before us. Um, and there were several other people and high high positions. But I think, um, the folks who came in and looked at us realized that, um, We had a good team and that I was the real deal.

Cause that's always the first question, right? Okay. Is she there just as a figurehead? Is this a lifestyle business is, you know, or is she really digging in and running the business? And I think through conversations, um, again, I had to kind of prove myself that I knew what I was talking about, um, in order to earn, uh, the, the position to, to. play a larger part and to have a larger role in the, in the company. So, um, I think it'll always be there. I don't think I'll ever get rid of it.

Um, but, but I'm okay with it and, and I'm okay with, you know, talking the talk because I can walk the walk because, you know, I, I really have. Uh, dug in and educated myself on this business.

Heck, there's not really a lot of women inside commercial and operational and line roles inside chemical companies. And you know, Uh, Kristin, a bit of your story makes me think, um, about the fact that you felt like you had to do everything and know everything in order to earn your position. Um, and you know, we don't know what might have transpired, um, if somebody else was taking that role. But it also strikes me that sometimes it feels like women have to do.

Better than men to get the next role have to be You know Stronger more engaging do more work to earn their their place I I'm just gonna throw this out to anyone I mean, what do you guys think in terms of do you see this as bias and and what needs to change? And is it changing?

They had pleated pants and golf shirts for God's sake. I mean, I, I did not wear pleated pants or golf shorts and their, their golf swing was better than the, you know, their, their peers and, and they didn't hit off the women's tees and, and it was just almost like this message of you've got to be this. type of a woman to have that job. And, and I think that has changed for the better.

I do think women are conditioned to, um, wait to be tapped on the shoulder, which, which is exactly what I did in my example earlier. I didn't ask for a job. I was, um, uh, approached, um, where men will seek. The job they're not quite qualified for because it's the next job they want. Um, but I do see a change. The younger women I work with are way more assertive. Um, they ask for what they want. We have a, uh, a team of engineers. 50 percent of them are women. Um, I do see change.

I think it's getting better. The one challenge I see is. Um, as a mother, um, it's very difficult, especially if your spouse works, which most of our spouses do. Moms don't always have the luxury of getting to work early and staying late. And, um, there's a perception that if you're not working longer, you're not working as hard. I think that's one that we still have to overcome. And so, um, some of these women's careers kind of stall at that point, they decide to become mothers.

Um, and I think that's still something we have to adapt to. We have to overcome.

You know, in your, in your life, in your family and not feel like, you know, there's going to be, I'm sorry, my earpiece fell out, but not feel like you're going to be, um, that it's going to damage your career in any way. Um, I think workers about results and if you can deliver those results and you can deliver it in the way that that works for you, um, then that's what it's about.

And so I think you have, you have to have confidence that as long as you're meeting expectations and you can do that, finding a way to have balance in your life. Um, it was never a roadblock for me, but it was also a priority. For me. And so I probably searched out those conditions without even knowing that I was searching out those conditions and making sure that I was in those places where I was going to have that, that, you know, not a lot of friction about, about having that, um, that need.

And, and so it did, it did work out for me and I wouldn't have it any other way at all. I was, I'm very happy that that's the way that it worked out, but I was also willing to. You know, to ask for it and make sure that it was something that I was able to get.

You know, I could take vacations that if it's the first day of school and I'm always, you know, seeing my kids off for the first day of school that, okay, well I've got that day saved and I'm and managing around, um, time blocks and expectations, because otherwise, if you don't seek your own balances, you talked about Emelia, you're not going to get it. Nobody's going to give you balance. You have to claim it for yourself. All right.

So we're going to do one final question and then we're going to, um, wrap this piece of it and go to the questions from the audience. If you have one piece of leadership advice for early to mid career person, that's really looking to achieve your levels of success, what would it be? And I'm gonna ask the same question for each one of you. So Kristin, why don't we start with you?

And then probably in the mid 2000s, um, we saw an influx of of change within industries within consolidation within, um, you know, regulation. And so I think just the ability to stay nimble and stay flexible within, um, the chemical space is is going to be a great thing. component of success and trying to make your way to the C suite.

Um, and sometimes I know that's hard to navigate when, uh, especially if your corporate culture is to say, Hey, you need to, you need to come out of this supply chain role and be a business analyst, which God bless you, Kristin, for doing that. Not in my wheelhouse. But if I had done that, that would have been detrimental to my career. I, I would not have. Succeeded and, you know, performance evaluation time would come around and like, Oh, she's just not cutting it.

You know, when I was shining in another role, so I think be selective. It's okay to say no in the appropriate way. Um, and just make sure you're always putting yourself in the best position, um, to, uh, to, to utilize your strengths and where you can add the most value.

You'll find out a lot about yourself if you do something that makes you really uncomfortable and, um, accountability and communication, you know, you got to be accountable for your work for yourself for your actions. You can only control those things. You can't control anybody else. You can only control how you react to them.

Um, and I think that I wish that that when, when we were all in school that they, they made us focus more on communication, written, oral, just, I think people underestimate. How do you take something from your head and, you know, every, you assume everybody knows what, you know, and that's your point of communication where you start and, uh, communication is absolutely critical. Absolutely.