Dr. Akemi Ooka
Head of Global Supply Chain Resources
Independent Beauty Association (IBA)
Please meet this week's WOTW, Dr. Akemi Ooka! Dr. Ooka has a Ph.D. in Chemistry and shared her work experiences in both small and large organizations with us during her interview. She started her career as a chemist at Clorox where she focused on product development and innovation. She enjoyed working at Clorox because it set a good foundation for her in CPG, providing excellent professional development and training, demonstrating best practices in the industry, and introducing her to great leadership. After Clorox, Dr. Ooka spent time at smaller companies such as method and J.R. Watkins and is now at the Independent Beauty Association (IBA), a non-profit trade association. She found the move to smaller organizations interesting and noted that things move much faster. For example, decision-making happens quickly, as there are fewer resources available to vet and test theories before making decisions. She leaned on her experience at larger businesses to determine what was truly critical in these smaller organizations and was able to decipher the “nice to have” vs. “need to have,” noting that "necessity breeds innovation."
While at Clorox, Dr. Ooka also pivoted her career and deliberately jumped from R&D to product supply because she wanted to learn about a different side of the company. She was intrigued to find a business aspect to the chemical industry that existed outside of the lab and accepted a role leading the chemical procurement team at Clorox. Dr. Ooka noted that she gravitated to procurement because she enjoyed the diversity of engagement with her supply base and building and retaining relationships with her suppliers. Moving to procurement also allowed her to communicate better with other stakeholders like R&D, as her product development background gave her a unique perspective on sourcing. She also acknowledged how important it is to make an effort to maintain and value all of these relationships, as they are a key part of a career network. She noted that for women starting in chemistry, there are aspects to product supply and manufacturing that are relevant and really interesting to check out if you want to explore career opportunities beyond making products at the bench.
Dr. Ooka is a strong advocate for women in leadership roles and stated that women bring different perspectives, communication styles, and listening ability to the table. When asked to give advice to young women starting their careers in the chemical industry, she encouraged them to "find your mentors, don’t be afraid to ask for help, and keep your relationships strong." She also talked about always doing the best you can, and shared that she took this to heart when working on a personal project-- creating a short documentary about her father’s experience in the U.S. internment camps during WWII. Her “all in” approach to collaborate with a terrific director and production team won the short film, Three Boys Manzanar, an Emmy in 2021.
She recommended some great resources, including the book "The First 90 Days" by Michael D. Watkins, a podcast called "How To Be Awesome At Your Job" with Pete Mockaitis, and a women's coaching group "Awaken Your Life" by Julie Santiago. Her film, Three Boys Manzanar, can be seen on PBS KVIE Sunday Stories (Episode 20) in the link here (segment starts at 49:30). Don't forget to check out her full interview through the link provided!
This episode was sponsored by:
