Kleo Landucci On Curiosity, Leadership and Supply Chain

At Let’s Talk Supply Chain, we know the importance of elevating the voices of the female trailblazers who are boldly changing the face of our community. That’s why every month we highlight a woman leader in the industry on our blog. We share their stories, achievements and advice for other women coming up the ranks in supply chain.

This month we’re proud to feature Kleo Landucci in our Women in Supply Chain™ blog series. Kleo is the Chief Commercial & Corporate Affairs Officer at Ashcroft Terminal, a member of the PSA Group.

1. What made you passionate about pursuing a career in supply chain?

The business of supply chain is really a part of every industry, every company, and, should be part of every role in a company. Supply chain is about understanding what it takes to move goods where they need to go in the most efficient way possible. It’s about being aware of what it takes to build a house, supply a restaurant, or move a train. All of us are impacted by the business of supply chain.  We live in an incredible country where too few of us pay any attention to the critical importance of Canada’s supply chain.

Canadians as citizens of a resource-rich nation have an obligation to be curious about the intricacies of getting our natural resources to market as well as reducing costs to import the products Canada needs.  Moreover,  understanding supply chain opportunities provides a gateway for imports into North America, offering a wide range of Canadian companies a market of 400 million people with which to do business.  Supply chains are key to a company’s success.

I was raised by an entrepreneur father and a marine biologist mother. So, being curious about our country, our province, and our world in general was instilled at a very early age.  This curiosity has helped my family and our company embrace the courage to develop  business opportunities that push us as a disruptor in the Western Canadian supply chain.

2. What’s different about being a leader at a family business?

I joined the company my Dad started in 2004 after four years in the investment business.  People make assumptions that because one is a family member they have been handed opportunities.  My Dad has been my boss, my mentor and my friend for 42 years.  Certainly, he has given me opportunities, however; having the opportunity only gets one in the front door.

My experience in family business is that you must work harder, constantly think strategically, and continually prove yourself, perhaps even more than if I wasn’t family.

I’m proud of being a part of a driven, hard-working family.  Let’s just say Christmas dinner is never dull.

3. How do you manage generational differences?

As a businessperson, learning from previous generations and their challenges is the greatest gift available.  I’m not interested in making the same mistake twice.  Embracing and learning from failures is how you grow and do better next time.

Being able to work alongside my Dad every day for the last 16 years has been one of the greatest learning experiences of my life.  Lessons are cherished and respected.  Our team is always open to new ideas and latest ways of thinking.  We are learning from the past—incorporating open thinking is rarer than it should be in family businesses.

4. What challenges have you faced as a woman in supply chain?

That’s not a question that I like, but I get it a lot.  I’m a person in business, being a woman shouldn’t matter.  However, the reality is that, at times, it does.  If you want to be successful in any business as a woman the fundamentals are the same—be smart, work hard, be professional, grow thick skin, and don’t cry in the boardroom.

5. What’s your approach to tackling challenges and taking risks?

I have challenges, every day.  As my Dad says, ‘business is just about solving problems’.

And, calling a spade a spade can be risky.  But, I believe that in business as in life, you must be honest and call out the BS when you see it.  Sometimes that hasn’t been well received, but so be it.

6. What’s your advice for women breaking into supply chain?

Go for it!  Dive in.  Be curious.  Knowledge is power so, when you think you know the answer, keep thinking and challenging yourself by looking at every angle.

7. What’s next?

There isn’t enough room in this blog to answer that. Let’s just say I’m very excited about the future and the opportunities around us.

About The Author

Naomi Garnice is the Director of Marketing for MicroAge where she leads the marketing team and creative strategy. Naomi has been a content marketer for 14 years and is passionate about creating engaging content that matters. Throughout her career in marketing for technology, healthcare and supply chain organizations, Naomi has advocated to highlight female thought leaders in male-dominated industries.