After a highly successful online nomination period consisting of nearly 150 submissions, Modern Distribution Management is proud to announce the winners of our inaugural Women in Distribution Awards.

This awards program recognizes the exceptional job performance and overall industry influence of women in the traditionally male-dominated field of distribution. The awards showcase successful leaders who demonstrate excellence, all while breaking barriers and championing other women toward success.

Hear directly from several of the winners on April 13 as they participate in an interactive discussion panel during MDM’s next virtual event, The Future of Distribution Summit. Meanwhile, mark your calendars for the next issue of MDM Premium, where you will find much more in-depth content on all of our talented Women in Distribution.

Here are the winners (listed in alphabetical order), with a comment from a colleague or industry peer who nominated them:

Rosana Chaidez, NB Handy Company — “The past five years under Rosana’s leadership have been highly successful ones for NB Handy and of critical importance has been her philosophy that the greatest strength of a leader is the ability to attract and retain talent.” – Bob Rumer, American Wholesale Ltd.

Rose Chen, WESCO — “She drives new growth opportunities while promoting cross-collaboration with emerging technology partners in artificial intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT), and digital technology to deliver impactful business outcomes.” – Emily Munk, WESCO

Allie Copeland, ADI Global — “Allie is what I would call a visionary leader that has the capacity to not only see the big picture but also has a grassroots understanding of what it takes to make vision come to reality.” – Eva Heller, ADI Global

Julie Copeland, Arbill Inc. — “Julie is a dynamic CEO, having taken a family business, clarified and redefined its mission, and helped it grow successfully with some of the largest industrial customers in the U.S.” – Fred Singer, Singer Equipment Company

Sarah Finlayson, Riverhawk Industrial Supply — “She has developed a great new solution for bringing value around supply chain called ToolGuard, an app-based tool management system that delivers a solution around managing tools at the job site or at any facility.” –Craig Martin, C3Consulting

Nancy Goedecke, Mayer Electric — “Nancy’s leadership and commitment to Mayer’s core values have kept the company growing and thriving in a sometimes-tumultuous world. Her keen understanding and steadfast commitment to maintaining Mayer as a family business provide the bedrock for Mayer’s culture.” – Wes Smith, Mayer Electric

Carrie Kessel, Mahar Tool Supply Co. — “As COO and owner of the organization, Carrie has responsibility for the overall workings and operations of the business ranging from contract negotiation, strategic planning, financial planning, vendor management, personnel management, and the like.” – Steve Priemer, Mahar Tool Co.

Joyce Lansdale, Vallen — “A little over a year ago, she set out to create a women’s resource group for Vallen. Out of it came VICKIE, the women’s resource group at Vallen. She knows how important it is for an organization to have diversity in attracting, retaining, and developing people while at the same time giving benefits to the organization and individuals.” – Will Lutz, Vallen

Kathy Mazzarella, Graybar — “Kathy is the ‘dean’ of women leaders in our industry. Her leadership of Graybar speaks for itself, and her reputation as a customer- and employee-centered CEO is legendary.” ­­– Julia Klein, C.H. Briggs Company

Jayne Millard, Turtle and Hughes — “She continues to drive her company forward, staying competitive in the changing marketplace with fantastic innovations. She has also championed great causes for advancing women in the industry.” – Jessica Miller, BlueVolt

Jennifer Murphy, NetPlus Alliance — “Jennifer exemplifies the traits of a great leader. She strives to guide us to become the best versions of ourselves that we can be, and allows us to succeed, and to fail when it’s necessary so that we can learn and prosper and feel that we’re an integral part of our company’s success.” – Shirley Weiland, NetPlus Alliance

Katie Parris, The Part Works — “Over the past 10 years as Katie has taken over, The Part Works made it the top priority to keep the high-touch, customer service oriented, knowledge base driven customer experience, while at the same time modernizing our reach through technology.” ­– Tim Johnson, The Part Works

Chintan Patel, SiteOne Landscape Supply — “Chintan leads all aspects of SiteOne’s digital and e-commerce technology development and operations, point of sale system installed in 550+ stores and corporate ERP system.” – Matt Jones, SiteOne Landscape Supply

Robyn Pollina, Palmer Donavin — “Robyn has great leadership qualities that have been demonstrated in Association work and nonprofits as well as leading our company.” ­– Ron Calhoun, Palmer Donavin

Lauren Roberts, cfm — “Lauren is a thought leader with a proven track record within the HVAC industry. She was the first HARDI member to implement a mobile app serving the contractors and distributors they serve in the industry. Progressive and innovative.” – Pierre Barbeau, Moblico

Petra Schindler-Carter, Amazon Business — “With tens of thousands of Amazon Business customers at hospitals, senior living facilities, state and city governments, and federal agencies, she saw that her company was uniquely positioned to help manufacturers get PPE into the hands of front-line workers.” – Shireen McCleary, Amazon Business

Deb Swambar, Crescent Electric Supply Company — “Deb understands the disruptors impacting our industry; including a) the threats arising from new competitors, b) the evolving and expanding expectations from customers, and c) the ‘war for talent’ to name a few.” ­– Scott Teerlinck, Crescent Electric Supply Company

Anne Vranicic, Valin Corporation — “Anne has led the development of our online business model beginning with the development of our website, and the building of a direct marketing organization that utilizes the digital tools Valin has put in place to communicate effectively and efficiently with our customers and suppliers.” – Joseph Nettemeyer, Valin Corporation

Jessica Yurgaitis, Industrial Supply Company — “While the industries we serve may be heavily male-dominated, Jessica has created a space for women to be heard and respected, and has opened many doors for growth and opportunity.” – Jasmine Widmer, Industrial Supply Company