Elia’s journey: from temp to vice president
Back in 1996, you spent your weekends at Leadec. Today, you’re responsible for HR in North America. Eli, is this what you expected back then?
I would summarize my Leadec journey as a combination of hard work, a lot of good people and a little luck. In fact, I had no idea that the temp job would lead to so many personal and professional opportunities. For a long time, I worked in operations at the sites before moving into HR in 2013. My first reaction to it was “What a horrible idea!” I didn’t think I knew anything about HR but decided it was a great chance for a different type of challenge and interest grew the more I thought through the reality of it.
A jump into the deep end ...?
Certainly. When I started in HR, I hoped in the early days that no one would call because I was sure I did not have answers for them. Eventually the confidence grew through knowledge building and practice, and I had invaluable mentors to advise and support me along the way. Today, my real passion can be found in trying to provide a great place to work for each of our employees for as long as they need Leadec to be a part of their journey.
And if you were to give some advice to new employees at Leadec?
Don’t obsessively chase money because it alone won’t make you happy. Focus on your big rocks (critical goals) and try to spend as much of your time at work and home doing things you enjoy.
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