WINNER: LARGE MARKET
Catherine Holt-gulley
Catherine Holt-gulley is Chicago Tribune’s senior manager of packaging operations. Catherine navigated organizational and tech changes while advancing to her current position, leading one of the largest newspaper packaging operations in the country.
“She is active in all facets of the manufacturing process, focusing on the customer, creating efficiencies and driving results by creating a culture of inclusivity and continuous improvement,” said Marion Medius in Holt-gulley’s nomination.
“In the heart of the pandemic, she led the project to consolidate two packaging operations utilizing two different operating systems into one process handling $30+ million pieces weekly and did so flawlessly.
“She improved department throughputs and cost YOY through employee engagement, training, accountability and strategic planning, which has resulted in exceeding the department’s CPH (copies per hour) goals while decreasing accidents in her department YOY by 43%.”
Reflecting on the past year, Holtgulley said, “With COVID, price increases, staffing issues, etc., I’ve learned that ‘Tough times don’t last; tough people do.’”
“This is a different industry than what it once was. It is not always easy, but it can still be rewarding,” she added. “Be a forward thinker, have passion for what you do, be persistent and have compassion for people. People get the work done. So whether it’s your leadership or frontline employees, make connections, collaborate with your team, be kind, be honest and trust your team.”