Focusing on diversity and combining different generations, skills, and backgrounds is Jessica Chávez’s recipe for building strong teams. Tenaris
Jessica Chávez, cutting and finishing manager at the couplings mill in TuboCaribe, Tenaris’s production center in Colombia, highlights her penchant for learning as the main driver in her life. Throughout her career, she has been very clear about allowing this passion to guide her choices, even when this means making tough decisions.
“I studied industrial engineering, started work in the construction and naval sector, moved into insurance on a national scale, and then shifted into logistics and transportation,” she recalls. This wide array of experiences has helped her acquire a rich mix of skills along the way.
One of the hardest decisions she ever had to make in her professional life was stepping out of her comfort zone to study operations engineering at graduate school in Bogotá. “I quit my job, to the consternation of many who felt I was turning my back on a good thing, and moved away from home in Cartagena, leaving behind my economic security. But I was following my passion; I knew that what I wanted most was to manage operations, so I needed to develop new skills to continue growing,” she says.
Chávez joined Tenaris in 2018 as a shift supervisor at the couplings plant, overseeing cutting, threading, and finishing tools. “It was a terrific opportunity to work at a truly multinational company and leader in its sector. Here, I had the chance to learn from so many different people around the world who share the same approach to quality, safety, and discipline,” she stresses.
As the finishing tools shift leader, she became the first female supervisor in an area traditionally led by men, and focused on bringing in more talented women. In 2021, she became the production planning and mill scheduling analyst, and in 2022, she moved into the role of finishing tools manager, before taking up her current position as cutting and finishing manager.
One of Chávez's toughest challenges arrived during the pandemic. “I was the only supervisor, and we had to keep the area operating Monday through Saturday, while I was at the mill only three days per week. The challenge was to help the company weather the crisis, keep operating to avoid impacting our customers, and understand how to transform the area as we exited the crisis,” she explains.
Chávez leaned on diversity, combining different generations, skills, and backgrounds to build stronger teams. Her efforts paid off: “When I joined the area, there were no women. Today, 30% of the people working in the area are women,” she says proudly.
She loves walking the shop floor, understanding what is happening on the line, and hearing from the crew. “I think successful teamwork is all about learning and making the most of every opportunity to acquire knowledge and skills,” she says.
For Chávez, the key to making this work is good planning, logistics, and organization. “I make sure that my team—my five supervisors and their teams, totaling 130 people—all take part in different courses and campaigns, from safety to quality and diversity. My goal is to use my talent in planning, along with my passion for learning, to improve the operations I'm responsible for by helping people become the best version of themselves,” she says.
She values time with her family and is dedicated to the education of her two nephews. In her spare time, Chávez enjoys traveling, yoga, running, and reading books on leadership.
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