Voices from the PPWLN Executive Council: Jan Tharp

Jan Tharp
President & CEO - The Bumble Bee Seafood Company

What led you to pursue a career in this industry?

I fell into this industry while attending Michigan State University. I had taken many engineering courses and was looking for something different but did not know what I wanted to pursue. Finding the packaging engineering program was the best thing that ever happened to me. It has opened so many doors in so many areas of business. I started 30 years ago as a packaging engineer, took every opportunity that was offered to me and now have the honor of running a billion-dollar international food company. There are so many opportunities in this field for everyone (machinery, materials, design, marketing, operations, finance) the list is endless. And packaging makes the world a better place – how many industries can say that?  

What is one (or more) piece(s) of advice you’d offer a woman entering this industry, or what do you know now that you wish you knew when you were younger and just starting out?

If you are offered an opportunity to grow in any capacity, even if you think you are not ready – take it and trust in your ability to figure it out. Too many women have a check list of skills they think they must have to take on more responsibility. Never take inventory of what you think you are missing, focus on what you know you have and go for it. You wont regret it.

What do you enjoy most about your role/job/career – thinking about daily tasks/responsibilities and/or bigger picture/longer term benefits?

What gives me the greatest satisfaction is creating an environment where people can bring the best version of themselves to work, thrive both personally and professionally and feel valued for what they bring to the table.  In that culture, people can solve problems, overcome obstacles, and deliver superior performance. What I have learned through COVID is that culture requires significantly more deposits than withdrawals or it will start to weaken. In our business as we shifted to a remote work model, our culture deposits decreased without the in-person communication. There were more withdrawals than deposits and over the last two years, we have not been as effective in creating an environment where everyone can thrive. As we return to a more hybrid work model, we are having many more conversations about culture and how we create an environment in this new world that can result in the same engagement we had when we were working side by side each day. We have to be open to changing out our toolbox – it is a very exciting time!

What qualities that tend to come naturally to women do you think translate well into leadership qualities and/or beneficial qualities to have in this industry?

I think women, in general, are good listeners and good listening skills are critical for leadership. We have a phrase that we use inside our company “seek to understand” which means we ask many questions and try to understand issues from many angles before we react or judge. Miscommunication is an underlying issue when teams break down or strategies fail. Sometimes when I find myself jumping to conclusions that may not be overly helpful to solving problems, I remind myself to “seek to understand.”  Good listening skills will translate well into any role and any industry.

How do you – and/or your company – embrace diversity and inclusion in the workplace?

I am sending an email that just went out to our entire company on a new DE&I initiative. DE&I is also built into our values which we talk about and emphasize as often as possible as part of our culture.

“Many people think Diversity and Inclusion is about what we see on the outside. I believe it is all about what we cannot see on the inside. When I talk about Diversity and Inclusion, I am talking about how each of us is a unique person with our own set of beliefs, strongly influenced by our environments. Acknowledging each other as unique individuals and creating a culture where we share our uniqueness, will open our minds to new ways of thinking and solving problems and strengthen our performance as a team.” Jan Tharp, President/Chief Executive Officer

We are excited to announce that Jan Tharp became a signatory for CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion™, where we pledged to advance diversity, and inclusion at The Bumble Bee Seafood Company. CEO Action is the largest business-led coalition focused on diversity, equity and inclusion with more than 2,000 CEOs of the world’s leading organizations who have agreed to take action to cultivate more inclusive workplaces.

One of the most effective ways to do this is through the professional development of diverse leaders and CEO Action’s new Mentoring Initiative will do just that. Beginning in April, C-suite mentors from CEO Action signatory organizations will be grouped with diverse senior leader mentees from across the coalition. They will come together in formal mentoring circles that will cover a range of professional development topics like networking, decision making, strategy and change management. I am very pleased to let you know that 9 team members from our organization have been selected to take part in this new initiative.

Lastly, all please answer: What are the top 5 things that any woman should understand or develop to successfully advance their career?

• Networking skills
• Leadership training
• Emotional intelligence
• Communication skills
• Authenticity on the job