Mentor Circle Adds Value

Kelly McCleary has been with Simmons Foods for two years, offering more than two decades of experience to the position vice president of finance. She had a very active WISE Mentor Circle this year: “Seven women from a wide range of private label suppliers met to discuss topics of interest, including emotional intelligence, managing people, negotiations, and toxic environments. As expected, the diversity of the group’s experiences and backgrounds helped us learn from each other and provide an objective sounding board for challenges we’re facing in our careers and our lives.” She goes on to add, “This group has proven that virtual teams can add significant value, even on ‘soft’ issues. We’re grateful for this development opportunity that Women Impacting Storebrand Excellence has provided us!”

As a published author, Kelly enjoys writing and blogging as therapy in her free time. She has traveled extensively and can sing the Russian national anthem in Russian.

Anastasia Mytnychuk has been with Topco Associates, LLC, for seven years working as a financial analyst. As a CPA, Anastasia has enjoyed the transition to her finance position where she can gain a broader knowledge of the organization as well as develop a new set of skills.

Anastasia values the knowledge and unique expertise of the participants in her Mentor Circle: “I am convinced that sharing our different perspectives and insights in such an open and supportive environment fosters honest conversations that change our professional lives for the better.” She specifically has enjoyed the networking events and the way that her Mentor Circle has helped her identify opportunities for growth and for clarifying her goals.

Originally from Ukraine, Anastasia has lived in the United States for twelve years. In her free time, she enjoys reading, spending time outdoors, and traveling with her family.

Mentee Spotlight: Sarah Shebesta

Sarah Shebesta works as the commercialization manager at Shearer’s Snacks, leading projects to launch new items through their stage-gate process. “It’s a great role because we get to work directly with the customers and then work closely with the internal teams and plant teams to bring great ideas to life,” she explains. Sarah feels that her experience in the Mentor Circle has helped to expand the way she thinks on a variety of topics and to gain new tools and tactics to increase her own knowledge. She adds, “I really enjoyed reviewing the articles (podcasts and books) recommended by the group and then hearing everyone’s take on the topic. Sometimes it was reassurance that I wasn’t the only one seeing it that way, and sometimes it was an opportunity to see things from a new perspective and broaden my understanding.”

In her free time, Sarah enjoys spending time with her husband and two sons, particularly cheering them on from the sidelines of a soccer field. She also participates in the Ohio Hope Ride each year, biking more than 300 miles in four days to raise money for the American Cancer Society.

The Mentor Circle program is fortunate that Sarah has offered to lead a mentor group in 2019!

Record Breaking Attendance at 2018 WISE Annual Meeting

The 2018 WISE Annual Meeting drew nearly 400 attendees on November 11 at the Hyatt Regency Rosemont, IL. WISE members, partner companies, and university students and advisors filled the Grand Ballroom to kick off their PLMA trade show participation.

“The WISE Annual Meeting demonstrates to our members, partner companies, and guests how the WISE board of directors, speakers and volunteers work together to provide a meaningful program with the goal to impact gender diversity and to advance women in the store brand industry,” said Peggy Davies, WISE Board Chair. “We are honored that hundreds of people choose to join us during a weekend with so many time demands.”

Attendees were challenged to face their fears and initiate steps forward to completing a goal by featured speaker Judi Holler in her presentation Fear Is My Homeboy®: How To Get Brave and Start Taking Action. Judi demonstrated how her background in stand-up comedy challenged her to be more courageous in her personal and professional life.

An annual highlight of the meeting, WISE and Storebrands magazine recognized the 2018 Top Women in Storebrands. This year, nine outstanding women leaders in store brands received an award and were recognized by their peers in short, personal videos. Nancy Cota, Albertsons Companies and Kim Giryluk, Lassonde Pappas received LifeTime Achievement awards for their contributions to industry.

The WISE Board would like to thank each sponsor, attendee and volunteer for their support in making the Annual Meeting bigger and better each year. We hope to see all of you back in 2019!