Stephanie Lopez
Vice President, Operations
AIB International
Newport Beach, CA USA
“It may or may not be a good fit, but the only real way to know is to try it.”
Milestones
My road in life has been direct.
I couldn't find a job doing medical research as I had intended. So, I took a job as a microbiologist for a food company. This is where my career started and I met my future husband.
I was passed over for a promotion, so I started looking elsewhere.
I thought my new job would require relocating to another state, but my responsibilities soon changed and I was traveling around the country, so it didn't matter where I lived.
The road warrior (200+ nights a year on the road) was getting to me. I missed my family and my health was suffering. It was time for a change.
I took a job with a well-respected company, but the culture was not a good fit for me. However, this was a period of time I focused on my health and lost ninety pounds.
After I had made a positive impression with a customer several years prior, they proactively sought me out to join their organization. At the time, I considered this the ideal company to work for.
I missed the work I had been doing from my road warrior days, but was hesitant to travel that much. My previous employer asked me to return with new responsibilities that required less travel.
I applied for the Vice President role because I thought it would be a good experience. I was surprised when I was offered the role, but I embraced it, including relocating to the midwest.
Keep following my journey
Education
High School
Graduate
MBA
Kansas State University
MBA
Kansas State University
Career
Vice President, Operations
I manage a team of food safety consultants throughout North and South America.
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Food
Education
Upholding a Cause and Belief
Day to Day
My job is a combination of business activities (budgeting, forecasting, capacity planning) and technical activities (helping a client prepare for an FDA visit, developing training materials on pest control for my team) and managerial activities (managing a virtual team, which is often early days and / or late evenings to suit everyone's schedules).
Advice for Getting Started
Here's the first step for college students
My organization provides training and consulting services to food and beverage manufacturing companies. The best way to start in the field is to get a job in food and beverage manufacturing. Your first role could be in production, quality, or sanitation. There is an ongoing workforce shortage in food manufacturing, so getting started should be easy.
Recommended Education
My career is related to what I studied. I'd recommend the path I took:
Graduate
MBA
MBA
Hurdles
The Noise I Shed
From Family:
"It's too much travel. You will be away from home too much. It's not safe to travel to other countries."
