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46 n e w h a v e n B I Z | M a r c h / A p r i l 2 0 1 9 n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m W o m e n W h o M e a n B u s i n e s s before rising to CFO and then be- ing named president (her "training wheels" executive title, she calls it) before becoming CEO in January 2018 when her father finally retired (sort of — he still shows up at the plant during the months he and his wife aren't in Arizona, though his daughter refuses to give him his own desk). e challenges that confronted Mayer when she took the reins of the family business at last were stiff, if not entirely unfamiliar to other manufacturing executives, especially in the Northeast. A highly skilled but aging workforce hurtling toward retirement, with too few trained and motivated members of her own generation standing in the wings. A senior executive at Bead's McGuire Manufacturing subsidiary "had a real problem with someone half his age and female managing him," Mayer recounts. "I was in there like a dirty shirt saying, 'Let's work together; let's share best prac- tices with the two companies.' He was not happy that I was over there messing with his company." He le that same year, followed by two oth- er senior managers. "Aer that the negative culture over there changed drastically," she says. Mayer recounts the example of another Connecticut manufacturer that shut down aer 80-plus years in business because the company could no longer find tool-makers. "at could have been us," Mayer says now. "But we punched through it. We had two of our top tool-mak- ers retire, so we changed our tech- nology and our strategy. It's not like we automated everything and now we don't need [tool-makers]; we got technology so that the skills set we need is different. Now we need CNC programmers." Even more than that, Jill Mayer transformed the culture at Bead — not just in the executive suite, but on the shop floor. Decision- making is more transparent, more consultative. "e culture of the company when I first came 11 years ago was a little bit stale — both in terms of the physical space, but also no one really talked much to [employees in other departments]. If you were in accounting, you never saw an engineer. It just felt very compart- mentalized. "One of first things I did aer my father retired was to have weekly 'huddles,' where we all got in the middle of the lobby and just talked about what we were doing this week. It kind of got us out of our holes and that really created a sense of team." Despite the bumps in the road and learning to manage the stresses of a family business to which she's now married (literally and figura- tively; her husband Kevin Mayer is EVP at McGuire), which included making major lifestyle changes to balance her career with the demands of raising a young family, Jill Mayer exudes a quiet confidence that flows from her core principles as a leader — but also openness to new ideas and ways of looking at the business. "Jill has amazing energy and stamina and has found a way to balance family, work and volun- teer commitments," says Jamison Scott, executive director of the New Haven Manufacturers Association, on whose board Mayer sits. "She is to be admired for her dedication in supporting the manufacturing community." "I thought I would eventually know it all — but every year that goes by I learn more what I don't know," Mayer says with a laugh. "But I also have learned that it's okay that I don't know everything. at why you hire intelligent, ca- pable people. Trusting your people and understanding the key points" are the traits a CEO needs more than any others. "I don't have an engineering de- gree," Jil Mayer says. "Our products, our processes are very technical. What our customers need? Tech- nical. My focus is really our team, our people, our employees. I'm really a support, a cheerleader, for them. at's what this role has been turning into." e lesson? "Turns out it's okay to ask for help," Mayer says, "because it really does take a village." n Bead Industries' Jill Mayer: 'I have learned that it's okay that I don't know everything.' Jillian Br yant Mayer Continued from Page 20

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