As part of our Leading Women series, we want to highlight the professional challenges and career aspirations of the women we work with here in Asia. In this story, Polly C Heiss, Global Commercial Director - Integrated Logistics at Kerry Logistics talks about the struggles to balance work and her personal life, being successful in a male-dominated industry and some of the best advice she’s received. 

 

Q: In reaching the level of success you have, if anything – what have you sacrificed along the way? Have you experienced any barriers in the journey to becoming a leader? 

Work life balance doesn’t exist for me. No matter how hard I try, there are times when work consumes my personal and family time. I try to avoid a conflict when setting up a meeting or work trip by scheduling my important family events ahead of time but even then, I have ended up missing many of my children’s development milestones due to work commitments. When Ryan (my eldest son) lost his first tooth, I was in Macau attending a work conference. After I had my second child, Markus I was back at work 10 weeks after his birth. Thankfully, my husband is very supportive of my career, and has my back. 

In the past, I have been on the receiving end of biases against female leadership. Back then, when I graduated from college, logistics was a male-dominated industry. However, the logistics workforce today is supported by many women, including those in senior leadership roles. There is a growing awareness of the importance of gender equality in recent times. Large corporations now see that diverse teams produce better results. While it is progressing, there is still a lot to do to close the gap. 

This is an abridged version of the full interview with Polly C Heiss. For the full version of the interview, click here. 

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