Jen Skala
Inventory Control and Scheduling Manager, Minneapolis, MN
AWMI Midwest Regional Vice Chair. Proud to work in the metals industry. Eager to learn more and continuously improve.
Jen Skala started her career at Olympic Steel in 2011 as a Buyer for Olympic Steel’s Minneapolis, MN division. She was promoted to Senior Buyer and, in 2019, moved into her current role as the Inventory Control and Scheduling Manager.
In this role, she’s learned a lot about scheduling and operations and is proud of the ways she’s used this knowledge to implement process improvements. She explains, “In our effort to continuously improve the division’s efficiencies, I established a new way to report out production, capacity and back logs that didn’t previously exist.”
“Jen wants to win every single day and is continuously looking for ways to improve,” says Tom Sacco, Regional Vice President for the Central Region. “She is relentlessly dedicated to serving our customers and our team, works hard and always demonstrates a positive attitude regardless of the situation.”
Maintaining that positive attitude helps her and her team get through the challenges. “I try to stay level-headed, keeping in mind that everyone I’m working with is also facing a challenge. We look at the issue from all angles and work together,” she explains. “There have been challenges in the past and there will be challenges in the future – and, we’ll get through them together.”
For Jen, every moment is an opportunity – to learn more, to get involved and to improve. When asked for her advice on how to build a successful career at Olympic Steel, she says, “Learn as much as you can about the industry and get involved. The more you’re involved, the more you’ll learn and the greater connection you’ll have to the industry and the business.”
This advice comes from her own experience. She’s been an active member of the Association for Women in the Metals Industry (AWMI) for almost 10 years, serving on the MN Chapter’s board in several positions, currently as the Regional Vice Chair for the Midwest Region (MN, Chicago, Quad Cities, St. Louis and Wisconsin chapters).
“Along with meeting so many colleagues within the industry, AWMI provides me with opportunities to grow professionally through public speaking engagements and by leading meetings and events,” she says.
Jen believes that the more you put into it, the more you’ll get out of it. And, she’s looking forward to continuing to learn more and contribute in every way she can.
