Associate Spotlight: Leslie Hershey
Learn more about Leslie Hershey, Senior Program Manager, and her experience as part of the Business Technology department.
Q. Can you tell us a little about your role at PDI?
Hershey: I was hired over a year ago into a new group, the Project Management Office, in the Business Technology department. This group oversees any projects where BT is involved or leading – and runs the gamut of business applications (ERP, Labware, etc.) and technical projects (BT Security initiatives, network upgrades, and server migrations, for example).
Q. Are there any unique / exciting projects you have been able to work on while at PDI?
Hershey: One important project is the deployment of a new company-wide project management platform. This is being led by the R&D group in PDI, in collaboration with Nice-Pak R&D and Operations. The harmonized New Product Development process will be migrated onto this platform first and then BT projects will be transferred into the process and tool. This tool will give users and executives an enterprise-wide view of projects and resources, and, over time, projects in other areas will be supported on this solution.
Q. What impact do you feel your function has had on the industry, particularly during COVID?
Hershey: Business Technology is an area of the company where you get to work with many parts of the business. One of my recent projects involved working with the Transportation teams in Indiana and Arkansas on a transportation management system. This directly impacts how we get product shipped to customers and gave me an appreciation of what our companies do every day to meet customer needs.
Q. Can you provide some insights on your team dynamics / working relationships with colleagues?
Hershey: My colleagues in BT and other areas of the business have been terrific to work with. They give their time freely and work very hard in supporting both PDI and Nice-Pak associates and customers.
Q. Have you participated in any charitable programs or events through PDI? If so, which ones and what impact did that program have on our local community?
Hershey: When I first joined PDI, I participated in the Keep Rockland Beautiful clean-up event, picking up debris along Route 303 in Orangeburg. It was a great local event, that PDI sponsors, to help the area near our facility, as well as meet other associates in PDI.
Q. What made you decide to join PDI?
Hershey: I decided to join PDI for the chance to contribute to a re-organized and re-vitalized BT organization, as well as the chance to work in a smaller company as it grows and confronts the challenges with that growth.
Q. How has your perspective of PDI changed since you joined the company?
Hershey: From the outside, PDI seems like a larger company, but when you start working in the company, you realize that it is a small, lean organization. Some things that you take for granted working for a larger company are not available or don’t exist, so you need to be flexible and lean-in where needed.