Laura Romero’s Fascinating Career, Side Hustles, and Side Obsessions
In this week’s episode of The Women of American Manufacturing podcast, we are featuring Laura Romero.
I met Laura during her tenure at Plex, where she built a world class partnership program and made a huge impact as the company grew and eventually was acquired by Rockwell Automation earlier this year. She’s on to her next career pivot at Infor as of this week, and will undoubtedly continue to leave her mark in the industry as a woman who champions other women and the value of integrated cloud technology for manufacturers.
Why Laura is a Woman in American Manufacturing Worth Knowing
Her passion is about relationships and reciprocity within them– you can’t let them be one-sided. Laura has said to me that “failure is a driving force to success” and that is so true, especially in manufacturing. Once you make a mistake programming G-code, making a part, quoting an assembly– you’re likely to never do it again. And in manufacturing technology, she is the queen of trying new things and allowing herself the chance to fail, learn, and succeed. Throughout her career, she has worked in retail, auto software, big tech, start ups, and even created and sold her own product through SkyMall. She’s done a lot, and has an immense amount of experience and knowledge to share with others.
A Surprising Thing That Came Out of The Conversation
It’s in the episode description, but worth repeating here that she was a part of the team who chose the name Old Navy for the HUGE chain of stores. So random, and so cool to be able to say this.
One surprising but valuable piece of advice she gives is to take a first call with every independent recruiter who approaches you. Why? Two reasons, mainly:
- You never know when an amazing new opportunity is waiting for you. I AGREE!
- Even if the opportunity they’re recruiting for isn’t right for you, if you refer candidates to them, you could make some cash. So what do you have to lose? 20 minutes?
Key Takeaway: Side hustles can make you better.
She didn’t just design a better food/drink/laptop tray for airlines called My TrayBien. She has also formally coached women re-entering the workforce, new college graduates, and others; hosted a podcast with her friend; and more. Laura credits these outside-of-work passions with fulfilling her in ways her day job might not have, and therefore making her feel more balanced and fulfilled throughout her professional career.
Favorite Rapid Fire Answer
Her favorite food is bacon, and she has attended the Bacon & Bubbly festival in California — a celebration of both bacon and champagne. I am simultaneously flabbergasted and extremely intrigued!!!
Listen to the full episode.