Since college, Meghan Walker has known she wanted to be a manager of a sales team.
"I feel as though I am a natural leader and find the greatest reward in helping others achieve success. Every step I have taken thus far in my career has been to prepare myself to manage a team," said Walker, who earned a bachelor's degree in business administration, management and operations from the University of Missouri, Columbia, with a minor in human development and family science and a certificate in sales and customer development.
She started in customer service at Huhtamaki in its retail division.
"I was attracted to Huhtamaki because of the culture, the complexities of the manufacturing world and the team environment needed to provide customers with high-quality product on time. … I will always remember how excited I was each day to learn about how our products were produced, how they got from point A to point B, and it really helped me to establish a strong foundation when I went into sales as I understood the supply chain and all the important details that go into manufacturing," she said.
Walker worked as a customer service account manager, sales account manager and national account manager for Huhtamaki, where she gained extensive experience in account management and learned the "importance of relationships and being innovative with cost savings opportunities with long-standing business partners."
Wanting to challenge her sales capabilities, Walker joined Tosaf as a key account manager, where she was able to grow her own book of business and gained confidence in her sales abilities.
"My responsibility was to prospect and onboard new clients in the Midwest and secure additional business for our polycarbonate category. … I converted 52 percent of prospective clients into buying customers in 2021. I also delivered 178 new, viable opportunities resulting in $3 million in incremental sales in 2022. I started with a book of business at $0 and was able to grow it to $5 million in two years," Walker said.
As the director of business development in injection molding for Tempe, Ariz.-based Westfall Technik LLC, Walker has had to advance her technical skills quickly and launch robust programs. To maintain a cohesive, collaborative hybrid team, Walker has introduced virtual team-building activities, established more structured communication and encouraged more one-on-one check-ins.
"The plastics industry isn't for the faint of heart. Every day is different, and there are many challenges along the way," Walker said. "There have been times when I have wondered what life would be like beyond the plastics industry, and I always conclude that I would be bored if I moved to another industry. I really enjoy continuing to learn something new each day, innovate and create new solutions, and create strong relationships with the internal teams and customers."