Maria Veracierto obtained a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from Simón Bolívar University in Venezuela and started as a sales representative at Procter & Gamble Co. right out of college.
After managing national key accounts for a few years, she moved to Houston, received a master's degree in industrial engineering from the University of Houston and switched to the industrial engineering field in manufacturing. She has worked in new plant startups, ERP setups, capacity analysis and new product launches.
She joined Houston-based barrier packaging specialist Inhance Technologies LLC, "where we offer sustainable technologies that transform specialty plastics and chemicals for many industries," Veracierto said.
As sales and operations planning manager at Inhance, Veracierto integrates and analyzes demand, plant capacity and network optimization. "I serve as a link between sales and operations, aiming to provide a world-class customer service experience, while growing the business and promoting operational efficiency," she added.
Her biggest accomplishment has been "starting a new career path, successfully working with very diverse teams in challenging projects and helping set the foundation to support business growth," she said.
Veracierto said her current challenge at work is "trying to establish new and robust sales and operations planning processes, while supporting the operations team that is currently servicing an all-time sales record."
"This sales record, coupled with rapid demand increase in every industry and all the regions we serve out of the U.S., is an exciting challenge to have," she said.
Working at Inhance is Veracierto's first plastics position in the industry.
"The plastics industry is changing rapidly, as it supplies cost- and quality-effective solutions to the market, while adapting to meet environmental needs," Veracierto said. "I'm very excited to be part of the change and to see the positive impact we are having in creating a better future."
Veracierto was nominated by Erin Raymond, account executive, Americas, for Fifth Ring Inc.
Q: What's an accomplishment of yours that most people don't know about, either for work or in your personal life?
Veracierto: During my time as an account manager in Venezuela, I organized a half-marathon event for the opening of a new store of one the top customers. The event was very successful with the P&G brands promoted throughout. This translated into sustained sales for several months.
Q: What has been the most unexpected thing you learned from the pandemic?
Veracierto: How quickly we can adapt as a company and community to ensure that the job gets done on time. The company adapted so well, and we were able to achieve all our customers' expectations in terms of quality, safety and service, while helping customers achieve their goals of more sustainable packaging.
Q: If you were CEO of a company, what would you do first?
Veracierto: I would try to gather as much feedback as possible from the team to understand how the company is viewed and work with them to implement changes to improve the work environment so they feel motivated and supported. It's important to foster a win-win relationship with all the employees where they can grow as professionals, while contributing to achieving the company goals.