As part of International Women's Day, Ternium presents the stories of three successful women within the company in this article.
Marina Chiesa, Head of Health and Safety in Ternium Mexico
The Footprint that Marks the Way
Marina Chiesa represents commitment and tenacity. With almost 17 years of experience, Marina serves as Safety and Hygiene Manager of Ternium Mexico since the end of 2020.
However, Marina's story goes back to 2004, when she joined the Industrial Engineering area in Coatings at Ternium Argentina. Due to her great performance within the area, the company offered her the opportunity to work in a new department focused on Quality Management.
In 2009, she collaborated with the Engineering area for the development of the Ternium Industrial Center in Pesqueria. “I worked those years on the conceptual project, between 2009 and 2010 we started to work with the people of Nippon Steel to build what we know today as Tenigal.” When the Pesqueria plant was under construction, she took over the management of Industrial Planning.
Years later, she had the opportunity of being the Chief of Staff and to accompany Máximo Vedoya on his journey, who had just started as CEO. Now, as Head of Health and Safety in Ternium Mexico, her evolution in the company is not only about responsibilities, challenges, and new positions, but also about the values and strengths she has acquired over time and on which she focuses to lead a challenging department.
“I think that the key element in my growth is tenacity and closeness to people. A good relationship with people is the result of reaching an agreement and finding a way to join forces, align them, and get everyone on the same side. Achieving effective collaboration”, she said.
Her biggest professional challenges so far have been moving countries, working on new investments in Pesqueria and accompanying the CEO. And although there have been many adversities in her professional route, Marina is aware of how and in what form the obstacles are presented and how to face them.
“A woman who has the spirit to undertake, to grow, to achieve goals equal to those of any other capable person, must know that she is very likely to encounter detractors along the way. The most important thing is to look at them as such and keep walking on the path that one believes to be the right one.”
Gloria Sepúlveda, Head of Certification and Standards at Research & Development
A Professional Transformation to Build an Industrial Legacy
Having the opportunity to see the professional development of Gloria Sepúlveda is astonishing. 13 years ago, in 2008, she was an intern in the Supply Chain area and now she is the Head of Certification and Standards at Research & Development.
To get there, the industrial and systems engineer started as an intern within the Supply Chain in Logistics, rotated to Order Management Export, and then returned to Logistics. After graduating in 2011, she entered the Coated Products Engineering area of Quality Management, where she spent six years and learned all about this department. Hereinafter, she was promoted to the Hot-rolled Products Engineering area.
“In April 2018, I joined the Business Automotive team as Automotive Account Manager. In this area, I attended clients such as Ford, Maxion Wheels, Sisamex, Acurride, among others. This was a huge challenge since I had to develop skills that I had not strengthened. After a year, I returned to the Quality department in the position I currently hold”, said Gloria.
Change has been a constant factor in the engineer's career and one of her biggest challenges. Therefore, she points out that the key to dealing with it is to adapt. “Companies such as Ternium are always changing. Products are innovating, customers have higher expectations and we have to keep up with the pace demanded by the industry. That was one of the things I learned when I moved to the Commercial area and had to overcome: adapting to change.”
On the issue of gender equality, Gloria shared her experience and perspective on how, at least Ternium, has become more open to diversity and equality.
“I have been given opportunities both in the Quality and Commercial departments, where the majority were men. In the Commercial area, we were only two women but, as time passes by, more women are joining to the team. When I returned to the Quality department, I had the opportunity to assume leadership. Now, I am starting to see more and more women in operational areas and serving as Heads of department.
Gloria has succeeded in her career thanks to her virtues and work philosophies. The value of responsibility and the focus on doing things right since the first time are two great elements that make her shine.
Jasmine Tanos, Head of Surgical Specialties at the Nova Clinic
The Drive to Thrive and Transcend
Why do things happen? That simple question motivated Jasmine Tanos to study medicine at the Hospital Universitario, do general surgery at the Hospital Muguerza, do her medical social service in Chiapas, and surgery social service in Montemorelos, as well as two master's degrees and work in different hospitals.
Today, and thanks to her background, she is Head of Surgical Specialties at the Nova Clinic. As a surgeon and after having worked in several health institutions, Jasmine realized that there were many opportunity areas to consider in-hospital processes. She then began a master's degree in Hospital Administration with the aim of generating value for this sector.
“After getting a broader picture and identifying the large number of positive projects that could be done, I started my second master's degree in Health Service Quality Management looking for a way to be a change agent. My aim is to continue studying in order to improve”, she emphasized.
Currently, the challenge of being part of the medical team has tripled due to COVID-19.
“Workload has increased. I'm still performing surgeries but there is more pressure since we have to find a way to deal with daily cases despite the pandemic. Along with that, I also have to take care of my two kids and their online classes. We definitely reconverted functions and took on others that we didn't have”, she said.
Jasmine coordinates surgical specialties such as plastic surgery, neurosurgery, and general surgery, among others.
From her approach and experience, Jasmine shares her perception of the dominance between men and women.
“In my case, I did notice the difference in the Surgery area when I was studying my specialty. Sometimes these differences were evident, so it took a little more work and effort to make the results stand out on gender. However, it has been worth it, as the challenge encourages us to work with greater discipline and organization, giving the necessary time to the different functions that as women we perform.”