Title: Human Resources Manager

Company: Huhtamaki

Location: Waterville, Maine

As human resource manager at Huhtamaki for the past 30 years, Beth Drennen-Bates is responsible for more than 500 employees in a unionized environment including safety, labor relations, negotiations, medical department, health and wellness, benefits and compensation. They proudly bear the name of their founder, Mr. Heikki Huhtamäki, a village baker’s son, established Huhtamäki Industries in 1920 in Kokkola, Finland. Ever since then, they’ve followed his spirit of adventure in exploring new opportunities across the world. By the 1960s, Ms. Drennen-Bates’ packaging business was fully established, with Polarpak leading the European paper cup market. In the 1970s they started to expand their presence and technical capabilities outside Finland and they haven’t stopped since. Simply put, they have expanded with their customers as their consumer markets have grown.

Today Ms. Drennen-Bates helps the company operate around the world, manufacturing in six continents. They continue to form important partnerships and to make acquisitions where it counts for their customers, as well as growing organically. Right now, they’re growing their presence in fast-growing regions, including Africa and the Middle East. So they are well placed to serve both global and local customers – wherever they see your next opportunity. Ms. Drennen-Bates leads her peers and subordinates with a thick skin and being persistent in overcoming challengers.

As a woman in today’s world, Ms. Drennen-Bates feels that having confidence and not being in the background has contributed to her success. She has been able to come to the table and present the information and strategies. The advice Beth can share with the younger generation of women entering the workforce is to have confidence.  Study and learn the expertise in your industry.  Be a resource to others. Actually it was a former supervisor who told Ms. Drennen-Bates the she was misusing her skills, as she was formally in the information technology arena, and thought it was a perfect fit.