Ladies Who Lead in Shaping Our Culture
Three women who are ‘all in’ on making Olympic Steel a great place to be.
Shaping our Company’s culture is a shared responsibility – from our Executive team to individual contributors and everyone in between. Culture is how we treat one another, the attitude we bring to our teams and our work and the beliefs that drive our behaviors.
As we continue our series highlighting Olympic Steel’s Leading Ladies, we’re celebrating just a few of the women leading the effort to shape and strengthen our Company culture. These ladies are “all in” on making Olympic Steel a great place to work.
Janeth Villalobos, VP Administration, Chicago Tube & Iron – Romeoville, IL
Janeth Villalobos, Vice President of Administration for Chicago Tube & Iron, is a voice for women, for Latinas and for all CTI employees – to answer their questions, to encourage their success and to support them along the way.
Four years ago, Janeth left the 3PL industry where she managed Human Resources for over 60 locations. The metals industry offered the challenge she was looking for, and she accepted it.
As VP Administration, Janeth is responsible for Quality, Safety, Human Resources and Administration. Although she manages a range of functions across the organization, all departments work together as a team to get things done. By nurturing a team-focused culture, she enables individuals to build relationships, develop skills, respect the contributions and experience of other team members and gain greater Leadership exposure – all important for supporting an inclusive culture.
“Everyone is cross-trained and works well together,” says Janeth. “The support from my team and my direct Supervisors is the reason for our success. They value my opinion and trust in my ability to get the job done.”
Janeth turns that encouragement around and gives it back 100%, to all employees at CTI, but especially to women and minorities. “Being a Latina in a leadership position provides me the opportunity to be a role model for minorities and young women in our industry,” she says. “And through my interactions, I encourage employees to continue to develop their education and grow in their career.”
Janeth wants to see everyone succeed, and she appreciates working for a Company that provides the tools and resources to make it happen. “The opportunities are numerous, and the encouragement to grow and learn is just the beginning,” Janeth continues. “It’s really up to the individual on how far they want to go at CTI,” and shares this Mexican Proverb: He who doesn’t look ahead remains behind.
No matter how far they choose to go, they have an advocate in Janeth Villalobos. Whether she’s helping Spanish-speakers communicate, motivating young women to keep pushing to accomplish their career goals or simply answering questions – Janeth has made it her mission to ensure every employee has a voice.
Krista Kotar, Corporate Human Resources Representative, Olympic Steel
Krista started her career at Olympic just over two years ago. Prior to Olympic Steel, she worked for six years as General Manager and Designated Interpreter for the Cleveland/Akron area Chipotle restaurants. During this time, she also participated in new store openings to train the team members. After starting her family, she moved into Human Resources for a background screening company. There she verified employment and experience for applicants who worked in Spanish-speaking countries. Now, at Olympic Steel, Krista continues to use her Spanish language skills to support our Spanish-speakers and allow them to fully engage with Company benefits and programs. In fact, if you’ve ever called the HR Helpdesk, odds are, Krista’s voice was the friendly voice that greeted you!
Krista always wanted to be bilingual. She’s intrigued by other cultures and proud to be able to communicate with people who speak a different language. She’s developed her language skills over the years through classes, but mostly through frequent interactions with other Spanish-speakers, including classmates, co-workers and her husband.
Krista uses her bilingual skills to help employees at all levels of the business interact and connect. “I love being able to help them with something that’s causing them stress or frustration,” she says. “Building strong relationships with all employees is always my number one priority. With Olympic Steel locations in many different areas of the country, I have a lot of opportunities to work with and get to know people from all over the country who are culturally diverse.”
The diversity at Olympic Steel is what Krista likes best about working here. That, and because Olympic Steel is dedicated to communicating with employees at all levels of the business. Krista is very familiar with our communications efforts because she translates the majority of Company communications, programs and policies to Spanish.
“I love that we are dedicated to offering Spanish translations,” she says. “It’s so important that all employees, no matter what language they speak, have a clear understanding and knowledge of training, programs and procedures. Being part of an organization that is dedicated to their people is a wonderful feeling, and I’m so proud to be part of it.”
Krista’s efforts are helping all Olympic Steel employees work safer and make the most of their Olympic Steel careers.
