What drew you to the rubber industry, and what has made your career in the industry rewarding?
I have been working at Cabot for almost 10 years and, when I started my career, I had just left college. At that time, I still had little idea of the scope of our company.
Over the years, I learned about this value and how our product influences people's lives, be it in tire and car parts, in the construction industry, in mining. The list is long where it is possible to apply our product and where it will make a difference.
What do you consider to be your greatest achievement?
I was never afraid of hard work and I built my way step by step. I learned a lot about the rubber process and about our customers during those years. In fact, I keep learning.
The rubber industry can be considered mature, but we always have innovations happening in new products and applications.
What do you count as your biggest failure and what has it taught you?
I had many challenges during this time, but I learned from them. I believe it is important to solve the problems and then analyze the whole situation so that action and monitoring plans are created, so that it does not happen again.
Who or what inspires you?
Many things inspire me, I am a person passionate about life and who likes to talk to people.
I am always in touch with our customers, and I am surprised by the creativity of all to overcome crises, like this pandemic moment that we are living.
I am a person very close to the family, with strong women and a lot of personality, and I believe that I had this influence in my character. I am very authentic.
Who were your career mentors, and what role did they play?
I am very lucky to work with excellent leaders and co-workers.
My greatest mentor is William Lima. He already had several important roles in our company, but he is our technical and quality manager responsible for South America. He has almost 40 years in the rubber industry and I learn a lot from him about everything.
We worked together for many years and our friendship from work ended up becoming a friendship for life, and he will be my best man next year (or as soon as we go through this pandemic).
What is the best advice you have ever received?
The best advice I have ever received and that I always say is that no star shines more than a constellation of stars. Teamwork is very important to achieve our results.
If you were CEO of a company, what would you do first?
There are many things, but I believe that the greatest asset of a company are the people. Strengthen the team, retain the talents and take care of the employees so that they return to their families in safety.
What would you tell someone considering a career in the rubber industry?
Do it, start it, go. It is not an easy market for women, but we have had major changes. It has always been a male-dominated market, but I believe that women have reached their space and continue to fight for this equality. We do fantastic things, and we are capable of great achievements in this industry.
In your opinion, what needs to be done to encourage females to pursue STEM-related careers?
Women need more opportunity in this market. There are initiatives like this one, which value women in industry, which arouses the interest of others in knowing and acting in this area. It is a highly competitive market, but where it is possible to have space for so many incredible professionals who can make a difference in companies.
Diversity benefits everyone.
