Francine Savage always knew where she wanted to go. Early in her career at 3M (St. Paul, MN) Savage sat down with her manager and had a heart-to-heart.
"I made it very clear that my goal was to move into marketing and business management, and I viewed engineering as a stepping stone to that," she told him firmly.
And that's how it has worked out. The most recent milestone in her nineteen-year career is her post of managing director of 3M Netherlands. She oversees more than 400 employees involved in marketing, sales, manufacturing and tech support services.
Getting there
Savage hadn't planned to work for 3M. As an EE major at Howard University (Washington, DC) she went to a college job fair to look for an internship. She lined up for the company she wanted, but the line was hardly moving. Next door at the 3M booth, there was no line at all.
"Why don't you come over here and talk to us?" asked the 3M recruiter. At first Savage thought, "3M; what's that?" But when the recruiter mentioned Scotch tape, Savage began to take an interest.
"Then he said the magic words for any college student: 'I'll guarantee you an internship and this is how much money you'll make.'" Savage moved right on over, "and that's how I came to 3M," she says.
"We will achieve"
The belief that "We will achieve" was instilled in Savage and her sister at an early age. The girls' role models were their father, a government computer systems specialist, and their mother, a manager at AT&T. The sisters had to bring their books home every day, "whether we had homework or not," and study and read the newspaper and "discuss the happenings in the world," Savage says.
She followed her sister to Howard, "and enjoyed learning in its very supportive environment with role models that looked like me," she says.
About problem solving
Savage parlayed that 3M interview into two "wonderful" summer internships, and became a permanent employee right after she got her BSEE in 1986. "I always hoped to leverage the engineering experience and technical background into a business management leadership position," she says. "But I wanted to begin with a good grounding and understanding of the technical world."
So she spent the first five years of her 3M career working in development, quality and reliability engineering. "The skill sets you learn in engineering can be leveraged into many areas of the company and its businesses, because just like engineering, business really is about problem solving," she says.
St. Paul and beyond
She began with three years in St. Paul with a division that produced large-format engineering printers. The work was fine but the climate was fierce, not at all like Washington, DC where a few inches of snow make a storm.
One winter day the wind chill hit fifty below zero. The visual systems division had just announced it was moving to Austin, TX. "I went down the hall that same day to find out about opportunities," she remembers.
Good idea. In the hot climate of Austin, Savage held a succession of increasingly responsible positions. The highlight was developing and implementing the company's strategy for breaking into the conferencing and collaboration market with computer-based presentation systems.
Into management
Her first management opportunity arrived in 1993, when she became product manager for 3M's electronic projection systems. "I had to launch the systems within 3M, and eventually assumed business leadership" for the product line, she says. Led by Savage, the line enjoyed a hefty revenue increase.
She moved on to become visual systems' business development manager, launching 3M's first multimedia projection system. Most recently, she used her master black belt training to lead the Six Sigma initiative within the microinterconnect systems and electronic solutions divisions.
The revenue figures are impressive, but it's the management itself that Savage loves. "I really enjoy the coaching, the mentoring, and seeing people realize their career goals," she says. "At the end of the day that's how the company achieves its objectives."
International experience
Savage didn't go looking for her Netherlands posting. "In my entire 3M career I've rarely asked for a job," she says. "I let my work and my experience speak for itself. This was an opportunity that found me."
International experience has been a goal from the beginning, however. "I'm extremely passionate about growth, and that is one of the challenges of this particular subsidiary," she says.
Fitness and fortune
Although she says she's "not very good at work-life balance," Savage does find time for recreation. A fitness devotee, she ran half-marathons until her knees no longer cooperated. Now she walks as much as possible, and also enjoys reading, cooking, entertaining at home and the company of her dog.
"I'm thrilled to be 3M's first African American female managing director," Savage says. "I've been fortunate over the years to have really good teams around me. Even more important was the supportive management that challenged me, gave me the opportunity to perform, and rewarded me well.
"I've been very blessed that way."
D/C
|
