Suky Lawlor earned a bachelor's degree in technical writing from the University of Central Florida and an MBA from Loyola University Chicago's Quinlan Graduate School of Business.
Working at M. Holland Co. has been her first role in the plastics industry.
"I am fairly new to the industry but have always been a fan of B2B marketing. For the most part, B2B marketing principles transcend industries, so I am able to apply my many years of experience in the insurance, commercial real estate, nonprofit and tech industries to the plastics industry," she said.
As the senior marketing manager at the resin distributor, Lawlor manages the day-to-day marketing and communication functions.
"I have spent most of my career working on very small teams, which means you need to wear many hats throughout the course of your day. I have redesigned websites, developed content, drafted communications, planned employee engagement activities, managed events and dabbled in graphic design," she said.
Lawlor said her biggest challenges at work at the moment are time and the ability to focus and that the end of the workweek "comes way too quickly" for her team.
"My greatest achievement was earning my MBA. Realizing there would never be a perfect time to go back to school, I jumped in at an otherwise busy time of my life," she said. "For three years, I attended evening classes, while working a full-time job, volunteering as a board member with the American Marketing Association and raising two small boys."
Q: If you were CEO of a company, what would you do first?
Lawlor: If I were CEO of a company, I would sit down with my marketing team to ensure that our brand was serving our business and that we had a plan to support new customer acquisition and customer retention — critical to growing any business.
Q: Who is your mentor or someone you look up to?
Lawlor: At M. Holland, I am lucky to be surrounded by so many people who take the time out of their busy schedules to answer questions and explain processes or concepts. And being fairly new to the industry, I have a lot of questions. My current manager has been instrumental in not only acclimating me to the industry but also helping me grow as a marketer and a manager.
Q: What is your personal "mold" that you are breaking?
Lawlor: The mold that I work to break every day is, frustratingly, one that I naturally set for myself. All too often, I hear a nagging whisper inside my head telling me that it can't be done. That's when another voice from somewhere deeper down pipes up with "Well, actually…"