ILMA Compoundings - May 2021 - 19
V
Game
Changers
Lubricants industry
provides interesting
opportunities, career
paths for women
By Mindy Long
alentina Serra-Holm had just finished her second
Ph.D. when she saw a newspaper ad that brought her
into the lubricants industry.
" The more I learned about the industry, the more
I fell in love with it, " said Serra-Holm, who earned a Ph.D.
in chemical reaction engineering and a Ph.D. in chemical
plants and now serves as business development manager at
Koras Group and president of the Union of the European
Lubricants Industry.
Serra-Holm said she came in by coincidence, which is an
experience shared by many women in the industry, including Ann Ball, product health and safety manager at DuBois
Chemicals Co., which acquired CIMCOOL Industrial
Products in March 2020.
Ball, who is currently ILMA's Board secretary and in line to
become ILMA's next president, made her way into the industry by accident. " It is someplace I didn't expect I'd be, and I
didn't expect to be in it long, " she said, adding that she will be
starting her 33rd year in the industry in August. " Sometimes
life takes you places you didn't expect. "
Ball received a bachelor's degree in animal science with
a minor in agricultural business, intending to become a
veterinarian. Instead, she used her degree to conduct research
before a friend recommended her for a position at CIMCOOL. " I started my job in 1988. A lot was going on in the
industry at that time with OSHA, EPA and UAW, " Ball said.
While the lubricant and petrochemical industry tends to
be male dominated, more and more women are pursuing it.
" Women are looking at it as an area that has a lot of opportunity for them. As qualified women get involved, I think
you're going to see more and more women in high-profile
positions, " said Holly Alfano, CEO of ILMA.
Gina Harm, president of Afton Chemical, said her love
of mathematics and science attracted her to the petrochemical industry. " With a degree in chemical engineering,
I've looked for roles that have allowed me to work in the
chemical industry and have a technical bent, " she said.
Harm started her career working as a manufacturing/
process engineer in chemical plants before moving into
leadership roles in manufacturing and then product management. She crossed over into more commercial-facing sales
management roles and regional and global marketing prior
to her current role as president, where she leads a team of
about 2,000 people worldwide.
" I believe you can have whatever career you want in this
industry, and a successful career can mean very different things
to people, " Harm said. " There are various roles available in this
industry, working in labs, manufacturing, sales, logistics, marketing, mechanical, procurement, engineering, data analytics,
environment, health and safety, finance, and the list goes on. "
19
ILMA Compoundings - May 2021
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