Leading industry toward sustainability and equity

March 23, 2022

Janelle Heslop (Twitter)

“Through Janelle’s work, we were able to advance the project on time and on budget and, more importantly, establish capabilities that will be needed for the future.”

—Arleen C. Paulino, senior vice president of global manufacturing and operations at Amgen

The gist:

Just a year after graduating from the MIT Leaders for Global Operations program (LGO), Janelle Heslop found herself entrusted by Amgen to lead a team determining where the company would put its next $1 billion manufacturing facilities.

With her passion for sustainability, “Heslop relished the chance to take on what she called ‘a mini-crash course on how to make an important executive decision for a Fortune 150 company’ while keeping the environmental impact front and center for Amgen's newest and most technologically-advanced manufacturing facilities.”

What defines her leadership?

“I often reflect on the 'L' in LGO — the leadership! Through our classwork and practical work, LGO required us to think so much about the types of leaders we are and want to be. ‘How can I best serve my team as a servant leader? How can I best motivate my team through coaching? And how do I help others understand the end goal through visionary leadership?’”

—Additionally, “a trip to South Africa “allowed Heslop to explore South Africa’s history of apartheid, draw inspiration from leaders like Nelson Mandela, and reflect on how racism and sustainability intersect as environmental racism.”

—Heslop also “co-founded LGO's Underrepresented Minority (URM) Alumni Group as a student and young alumna. “The aim of the group was to look at the critical need to increase underrepresented students’ presence within the LGO program.”

“I was the only Black woman in my LGO class. The last time that we had a Black woman in the program before me was not even in the class above me, but the class two years ahead of me.”

In founding the LGO URM Alumni Group, “Heslop and her peers were hoping to increase the numbers of underestimated talents to enroll in the LGO program by building visibility of the program, and creating a pipeline of diverse talent through forums and networking.“

I don't dream about jobs. I dream about impact,” Heslop says. “I want to manage, run, lead projects that are having a meaningful impact in the world, making it prepared for future challenges like climate change, leveraging emerging ideas and innovation to create a healthier, more equitable society.

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