Sandra Wisniewski
President
W.R. Grace
Sandra received her degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Wisconsin then went on to build a "back of the house career" where she focused on functions such as quality, R&D, operations, and project management. She was urged by a sponsor to obtain her executive MBA, which she received from Kellogg School of Management, and subsequently, she moved to a "front of house career" holding various commercial roles in the medical device and pharmaceutical industries. Throughout her career tenure, Sandra remains inspired at the opportunity to drive positive business performance through high-performing teams and cross-functional collaboration. In 2017, she landed in her current role at W. R. Grace & Co. (Grace) as President of their Materials Technologies business.
Sandra emphasized the importance of building a strong foundation that allows individuals to translate their skills and capabilities into opportunities to change functional roles or even industries or market sectors.. She believes career diversity is important but emphasized to our listeners that balance is also key. Sandra spent 25 years of her career with Baxter Healthcare and reflected on the track record and reputation she built over her long tenure with the company. During her interview she shared,, “changing companies gives you a different perspective – a new ecosystem, new culture adaptation, new invention of yourself, and new relationship and rapport building with people who do not know you. Changing roles at your existing company and starting at a new company both help you become more rounded in your career.”
Sandra believes that financial skills and experience interfacing with customers are some of the most important skills one should gain when looking to transfer functional roles, for example, when moving from the “back of the house” to the “front.”. She encourages people to volunteer for these experiences no matter what role they are in.
When asked how to promote women into leadership roles, Sandra also shared how an organization should always begin their candidate search by casting a wide net and ensuring the candidate pool is not only qualified but diverse. During our conversation with Sandra, she also emphasized the importance of coaching and mentoring and encouraged all individuals to never hold back from applying to a great role if they don’t meet all the qualifications. “Even if you have 8 of the 10 qualifications, you should apply,” said Sandra.
Sandra left our audience with a lot of great insight and perspective; perhaps the most important piece wisdom she shared was around career ownership. She shared, “you are in charge of your own career, and your career has to be your passion in order for you to achieve success.”
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