Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Videos
    • Podcasts
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • K Show
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • Notable Leaders in Sustainability
    • Processor of the Year
    • Best Places to Work
    • Women Breaking the Mold
    • Rising Stars
    • Diversity
    • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • Pellets and Politics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics Caps + Closures: A Global Online Event
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Bioplastics Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • PFAS Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Resin Prices
    • Resin Prices Overview
    • Commodity Thermoplastics
    • High Temperature Thermoplastics
    • Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Thermosets
    • Europe - Virgin
    • Europe - Recycled
    • Europe - Feedstock
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
July 26, 2021 08:00 AM

Women Breaking the Mold 2021: Tara Cutaia

Jordan Vitick
Special Projects Editor
Plastics News Staff
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print

    M. Holland Co. Director of Client Experience Tara Cutaia oversees the day-to-day operations of the client experience team, supports the commercial organization in gathering information and processing orders and partners across the firm to solve problems that affect the clients and commercial team.

    Her first exposure to the industry was at Solo Cup Co., but Northbrook, Ill.-based resin distributor M. Holland was her first plastics position.

    "My interest is about understanding the big picture of plastics and how it continually changes," she said. "From 3D printing to sustainable materials, this industry is always looking for ways to be there for our world in ways many people could never imagine. It creates opportunities for personal and employee growth that were unheard of not long ago."

    At the beginning of her first supervisory job, Cutaia managed a department of 50 customer service representatives with over 20-minute hold times and worked to create an organization of teams based on regions across the country. When the switch was turned on to route calls by area code, the team never had a call holding more than 1 minute in the queue.

    "The overall team began functioning at a higher level and customer satisfaction grew," she said.

    Cutaia has mentored, coached and promoted more than 100 people in her career.

    "While helping others find their full potential and beyond is a passion of mine, it is also a great way to ensure our organization has bench strength when new opportunities present themselves," she said.

    She also participated in the build and became the product owner of MHX, M. Holland's client-facing platform that gives customers the ability to see orders, historical shipments and tracking information. Cutaia said this opportunity was outside her comfort zone but it was "an amazing opportunity."

    "When I started at M. Holland, I thought I understood the impact of plastics on the world," she said. "I was sorely mistaken. Plastics are everywhere and in everything, which gives the industry a unique position in several industries."

    Q: What has been the biggest impact or challenge on your career from the coronavirus pandemic?

    Cutaia: I have been truly blessed to work for an organization that allowed our staff to participate in remote work prior to the coronavirus pandemic. When the decision was made to go full-time remote, my team flourished. We conducted daily stand-up meetings for the first few months to ensure all systems were working efficiently. Over time, this became weekly check-ins and a focus on our new ERP system. I made the decision early on that we needed training as soon as possible and consistently until the go-live date. I worked closely with my ERP team and department leaders to develop a thorough training program that saw success upon implementation.

    Q: What is the most unexpected thing you learned from the pandemic?

    Cutaia: Mental health awareness for yourself, your family and your employees was critical to ensure everyone stays connected. It was so important to have already established relationships with my team so I could sense when they were struggling. Checking in with them often, giving them reassurances and pushing them to take their breaks, lunches and PTO.

    Business is important; however, the people are the rock behind the company, and if they falter because we are not paying attention as leaders, then we have all failed. One more thought: Cherish every moment with your family. This past year has shown just how wonderful it is to be around them 24/7.

    Q: What is your personal "mold" that you are breaking?

    Cutaia: I have been a customer service professional for almost my entire career. In many settings, customer service is seen as just the people who enter orders. My mission since starting at M. Holland is to make the client experience team the greatest partner to our clients and our commercial team. More than that, for excellence in service you need a strong process and ease in visibility to see what is going on across the organization.

    I'm stepping out of client experience to dive into other departments and help them reimagine their needs to support the business. I am mentoring people outside of my own team to help more people grow cross-functionally. The more we know about each other's piece of the business, the better collaboration is across the board. I am passionate about people and showing them empathy in times of confusion. I strive to be humble and kind because no one knows what others are going through. These principles help me build relationships and grow teams that work together.

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Auto suppliers urge price concessions from carmakers as strike hits finances
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    An 8,000-ton dream for Milacron, 20/20 Custom Molded Plastics
    2
    Sonoco closing California plant, laying off more than 300
    3
    Plastics industry ‘not running away from its own problems,' ACC's Eisenberg says
    4
    ExxonMobil completes $2B Texas expansion
    5
    ACC campaign targets Biden administration's ‘regulatory overreach'
    SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Find more newsletters at plasticsnews.com/newsletters.

    You can unsubscribe at any time through links in these emails. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Tire Business
    • Urethanes Technology
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • K Show
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • Notable Leaders in Sustainability
        • Processor of the Year
        • Best Places to Work
        • Women Breaking the Mold
        • Rising Stars
        • Diversity
        • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
      • Newsletters
      • Videos
      • Podcasts
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • Pellets and Politics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics Caps + Closures: A Global Online Event
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
      • Industry Events
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Bioplastics Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • PFAS Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Resin Prices
      • Resin Prices Overview
      • Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temperature Thermoplastics
      • Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Recycled Plastics
      • Thermosets
      • Europe - Virgin
      • Europe - Recycled
      • Europe - Feedstock
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified