Veronica Messersmith, Sandvik Coromant, Vice President of Strategic Relations, Americas

How did you choose a career in manufacturing and what do you enjoy most about your work?

A close family friend suggested I study Industrial Engineering in college. He said it was a growing field and would afford me great career opportunities. I followed his advice and found I really enjoyed learning and evaluating manufacturing processes, looking for efficiency gains, and being a part of process improvements. I started as a traditional Industrial Engineer early in my career. However, I’m fortunate that I’ve also worked in human resources, finance, production, production planning, safety, and finally in sales, all at Sandvik Coromant. I really enjoy leading strong teams, working to exceed company and customer expectations, driving change, influencing continuous improvement, and developing people. When you invest in your people and their development, you build a mutual trust. People tend to invest more in the team and feel more energized in their work. A strong team leads to exceptional results.