A KICK-ASS WOMAN IN THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY…

Kelly Austin
Vice President, Strategic Accounts
Clasen Quality Coatings, Inc.
A lesson I learned early
on was that everyone has
their own priorities and
expectations and that will
drive their actions. Realize
that no one cares about
your priorities as much as
you do. This can apply to
simple tasks on your to-do
list, a project at work, your
career path or your values.
This is simply a fact of life.
Know what is important to
you and make it happen.
Own the outcome.
Jeannine Sacco
Chief Food Officer, Grainful
One of my mentors for the past seven
years has a saying that I will never forget,
and I always share it with others: There
are three decisions you can make, and
only one of them is the wrong decision
every time.
1. Making the right decision.
2. Making the wrong decision.
3. NOT making a decision at all.
When you make the wrong decision, as
long as you are able to acknowledge it,
learn from it and never make it twice, you
will persevere.
BUT when you choose NOT to make a
decision, you can’t move forward, things
stop and ultimately you will fail. Never
choose to not make a decision.
Darcy Zbinovec
Chief Executive Officer
Among Friends Baking Mixes
I don’t think in terms of failure. Life
has a funny way of giving you what you
need. I tell my kids, “Never overlook an
opportunity for greatness.” Failure is
opportunity in disguise.
One Friday night in my Lightlife Foods
tenure, the plant manager called at 11
p.m. to tell me our new facility was in
flames. The fire started on the loading
dock and had spread to storage. Though
typically stoic, my plant manager was
emotional. I said, “No one’s hurt. We can’t
go to emotion. We need to motivate the
team, lay out our plan, pressure-check it
and then get going.”
It definitely improved the team; we were
much stronger as a group for having
gone through that. That was the biggest
business-building change. Three weeks
later, we were up and running again.
Kantha Shelke, Ph.D.
Food Scientist and Principal
Corvus Blue LLC
Learn to communicate
clearly and concisely.
Say what you mean.
Be strategic by keeping
good company. The food
industry badly needs the
leadership of women in its
service to humanity.
Jill Litwin
Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Peas of Mind
My tenacity is a trait I’m really proud of in
my professional life. By being persistent
and not giving up at the first “no,” I’ve
turned countless seemingly unlikely
situations into a “yes.” It is an especially
important quality as a small business
owner and a woman in the food industry,
because too often we accept arbitrary
terms or unfavorable contracts when
we’re up against larger corporations. My
tenacity enables me to fight for fairness
and stand up for my business when facing
major challenges.
I’m a fair and nice person and want to do
business with other like-minded people
to form mutually beneficial relationships.
Building strong relationships that will
weather everything from supply chain
meltdowns to simple mistakes is no easy
task. I’ve learned that no low price is worth
doing business with someone who doesn’t
take accountability or believe in your
business when the chips are down. In the
end, business comes down to relationships.
It is important to work with people you can
count on to make things right.
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