Robbie Ropella

President

Ropella Group

This week, for our first ever live recording of our Woman of the Week episodes, we were joined by 20 women in our community to listen to our interview of Robbie Ropella, President of the Ropella Group. The Ropella Group is a leading executive search and consulting firm specializing in the chemical, consumer products, energy, technology, and healthcare industries. Robbie started in nursing but did not find it to be a fit. She jokes that she married into the chemical industry by meeting and marrying her husband, Pat Ropella who founded Ropella Group. Robbie started off answering phones and worked her way from the ground up in their recruiting business. She credits her college psychology classes for giving her a leg up on her opportunities to place candidates as she is incredibly skilled at relating to people, understanding their emotions, what motivates them. Robbie mainly places mid-level to C-suite candidates. 

Robbie noted the immense change in demographics in the chemical industry. She advised that 20 years ago, there was a 10 to 1 ratio of male candidates to females with technical degrees. These days, she sees it to be a more even split noting that there are even sectors of the chemical industry that she perceives are more female dominated including consumer products, personal care and HI&I. She did note that construction, paints and coatings still remain largely male dominated. Robbie mentioned that she has never seen a hiring manager that is pushing for a man. She in fact mentioned that when she has a strong female candidate, they often get preference over their male. Robbie also noted that this year she has placed an equal number of women in C-suite roles as she has men showing an exciting shift in the industry.

Robbie mentioned to our community that we are currently in a candidate’s market. She advised that a resume typically gets 8 – 10 second of attention from a hiring manager. She encourages that candidates have product, markets, and niches that they are involved in up front and center. Robbie advised that companies are now investing much more heavily in hiring for data digitization, sustainability, innovation R&D, and regulatory roles. She also mentioned that companies are doing a lot more executive level hiring for succession planning as large swaths of baby boomers retire.

In wrapping up, Robbie gave our community very thoughtful advice and recommendations. She advised us to find a good mentor, map out where you want to be and plot out the steps that it will take to reach your goals. She closed in quoting her husband, Pat Ropella’s motto, “Life is short so wherever you are be there, be present, and be focused”. Finally, she gave us three must read books including 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace, You’ll Get Through This and finally a book written by her sister Don’t Panic, It’s Only Brain Surgery.

This episode was sponsored by