Marie Weyandt studied journalism, public relations and advertising at Creighton University in Nebraska. She spent the majority of her career at Edina, Minn.-based Regis Corp. managing the marketing strategy for hair salon openings and later managed a nationwide gift card program for all corporate and franchise brands.
She joined cross-linked polyethylene pipe maker Uponor of Apple Valley, Minn., in 2018 as the associate marketing manager of PP-RCT (polypropylene, random copolymer, with modified crystallinity and temperature resistance), working on launching a new PP-RCT product offering — her first role in the plastics industry.
"I was interested in the industry because I wanted to expand my knowledge of a B2B industry and how marketing played a role in its overall strategy to the end user, while most importantly, partaking in the exciting launch of PP-RCT as an entirely new product offering for Uponor," Weyandt said in her Women Breaking the Mold survey.
Weyandt said she is interested in e-commerce marketing via social networks.
"Having come from consumer-driven industries, I love taking a step back and looking through the consumer's lens to be sure their needs are being met via the products or services I help to manage," she said. "With so many different social channels gaining traction daily, creativity is key for marketers in this space. I love seeing how various brands think outside the box to reach their customer bases and retain them long term."
Payton Bailey-Meyers, account executive at GreenHouse Digital + PR, nominated Weyandt for Women Breaking the Mold.
Find more profiles of Women Breaking the Mold here.
Q: What is your greatest achievement?
Weyandt: My greatest achievement to date is becoming a mom to my daughter, Olivia, who will be 1 year old in late October.
Professionally, my greatest achievement is being able to leverage my professional network to land each job opportunity I've had. I believe one of my greatest assets is fostering relationships, and that has proven instrumental in determining my career path, as well as cultivating cross-functional relationships within each company. This has always been critical in establishing rapport and moving projects forward.
Q: What is your current challenge at work?
Weyandt: Current challenges at work will continue to be the industry learning curve and the technical aspects of the plastics industry. My career has largely been in the B2C/retail and service space, so the technical aspects of working for a polymer piping manufacturer can be a personal challenge at times.
Q: What is the best advice you have ever received?
Weyandt: My grandpa always liked the following quote, "Attitude, not aptitude, determines altitude." This has been my life's mantra because I firmly believe that a positive and optimistic attitude will always get you farther in life, no matter the situation or environment.
Q: Who is your mentor or someone you look up to?
Weyandt: I've always looked up to my mom, both personally and professionally. We have very similar interests, as we both studied journalism/marketing/public relations in college and went on to have careers in these areas. She is by far the hardest, most-dedicated and driven worker I know. She always goes above and beyond to produce outstanding results. Who doesn't want to be more like that?
Q: If you were CEO of a company, what would you do first?
Weyandt: Ensure there is a robust and flexible parental-leave policy in place for both women and men. Having recently become a new parent myself and choosing to work full time after our daughter's arrival, I believe it's important to provide working families enough time at home to acclimate to the newest member of your family and their "new normal." This time is precious, and you will never get it back.