Michele Kraus

Key Accounts Manager

Penn Color

Please welcome this week's WOTW, Michele Kraus, Key Accounts Manager at Penn Color. Michele studied chemistry in her undergrad. She shared with us how she really loved the lab life and how she had always wanted to immerse herself in the lab for her career. It wasn’t until an advisor of hers pushed her out of her comfort zone and made her aware of her potential in sales.

Michele has 25 years of experience across a diverse portfolio of chemicals companies. We talked about how the industry has changed over time and how the pace of change continues to increase and the resulting expectations that exist today because of this change. When asked about supporting and being supported by other women in the industry, Michele talked about the importance of building relationships with women versus competing against them in this industry.

"It's really important to prioritize building relationships with women"

We also talked about the volatile environment our industry is in today and how to keep pushing forward after failure and difficult times. Michele talked about the effort she makes to let each day go at the end of the work day; holding on to the bad or tough days can impact your after-work life and mood. In wrapping up our chat Michele was asked what advice she would give her early career self. She shared with us a motto she learned from her mom, "If it scares you, do it.”

This week’s episode is sponsored by: