To celebrate International Women’s Month, we’re sharing the stories of female employees who do amazing work at our Paper Excellence mills. Our interview with Pamela Tsai:
Pamella Tsai has been with our company for over 20 years. She has worked in many different departments, from transportation to supply chain management to inventory and production planning. Her current role is a Senior Pulp & Market Analyst at our sister company, Domtar.
In your role, what are your responsibilities? What does your typical day look like?
“A typical workday for me would be engaging a series of meetings troubleshooting and brainstorming solutions. I run a lot of monthly reports for the financial team and sales team. My team also cross-collaborates with the functional team to make sure everyone is aligned to drive process improvement and meet financial targets. It also focuses on analyzing and collaborating for process improvement and my current role collaborates with all three legacy businesses: Paper Excellence, Domtar, and Resolute.”
What do you like about your job?
“It’s challenging and fun. Always a good feeling to accomplish and achieve something and continue to improve.”
What work-related accomplishments are you most proud of?
“When we had the malware attack in 2020 I had just finished a course on Power Query, and I had to use the skill right away. Due to the attack, we lost everything and had no access to SAP and the warehouse system, but we still had to keep the operations going. Without the usual program, we had to work with what we had. Andrey Mozuliov from PE Finance team and I created a series of data model that allows us to pull Excel information from people’s emails to survive the malware attack. Being able to apply something I just learned and working hand and hand with cross-functional teams to help the organization through a crisis is one of the highlights of my career.”
What excites you about your future in this industry?
“Although some people say that the paper and pulp industry is a sunset industry, I feel there are still lots of opportunities to grow and things to be done. We are becoming a much bigger company. With the wider range of product offerings and global office locations, there is tons of room to grow both personally and professionally.”
What challenges do you face in your work because you’re a woman?
“Not really at work, but balancing work and life can be challenging. Wanting to be successful in your career, while being a good mom and wife, and being yourself at the same time, is not easy.”
What would you tell girls who are thinking about a career similar to yours?
“Be curious, ask questions. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do something. Always prepare yourself for opportunities. Take courses, keep yourself up to date with knowledge, and never give up.”
Pamella Tsai’s advice to aspiring young women aligns with the inclusive and supportive culture that Jackson Wijaya advocates for within the Paper Excellence group of companies, emphasizing curiosity, perseverance, and the empowerment to confidently step into new opportunities.