Women in Supply Chain: Meagan Fitzsimmons

The supply chain industry is a predominantly male one. Females only represent 37% of the workforce and 15% of senior vice president (SVP), executive vice president (EVP), and C-Suite positions, according to MIT's Women in Supply Chain Initiative. In our latest series, Women in Supply Chain, SC247 is speaking with women in different roles to provide insights into the realities of working in this industry.

We spoke with Meagan Fitzsimmons, Chief Compliance and ESG Officer at GXO Logistics for our first profile.

Supply Chain 247: Thanks for speaking with me. To get started, talk about your career path and how it led you to GXO.

Meagan Fitzsimmons: I am a lawyer. I started my career at a private practice in Washington, D.C., focusing on criminal and civil work, before moving to internal investigations. I became an in-house attorney at Colgate-Palmolive focusing on internal compliance and Ioved it, especially being on the company side of things.

SC247: What has your experience been like as a woman working in the supply chain industry? Have you experienced any discrimination?

MF: There are definitely opportunities for better female representation. But I'm privileged at GXO because we have a fair amount of female representation on the executive team and the Board of Directors compared to some other companies.

When I first joined Revlon, the entire leadership team was male and the majority of the Board was also male, even though we were a beauty company with a primarily female customer base. So I don't think that a lack of women in leadership is a unique problem in the supply chain industry.

SC247: Have you ever encountered situations of blatant sexism or something that made you feel uncomfortable?

MF: I think if you asked that question to every woman, most would say they've experienced that type of thing at some stage of their career. It happens more frequently during the junior stages where you're not quite sure how to react.

One thing I'm able to do as part of my job on the compliance side is make sure we have an environment where that type of sexism doesn't happen. And if it does happen, people feel comfortable speaking up and raising those concerns because I think it's something that every woman has faced.

SC247: Are there ever times you're at an event, look around, and think, “There's not a lot of representation here?”

MF: I've been in many rooms in my career where I'm one of the only women. At GXO, we are a little over a third female so not as often. But I do remember working at law firms early in my career where it was predominantly men in the room and the women were often asked to take notes or get the coffee. I'm hoping that that has changed across all industries, but we haven't really solved the problem yet as a culture.

SC247: Let's say, hypothetically, that you're speaking at a Career Day for your former college. If some female students told you that they wanted a career in supply chain but weren't sure if the industry is too male-dominated, what would your response be?

MF: I would tell them not to be intimidated and not to take themselves out of the running. The industry is starting to change, and frankly, being a woman in a male-dominated industry can be advantageous because you bring a new perspective and a different take on things. In many ways, it can be useful to not do the same thing that others have done before you and to take a new approach

“Being a woman in a male-dominated industry can be advantageous because you bring a new perspective and a different take on things. In many ways, it can be useful to not do the same thing that others have done before you and to take a new approach.”

SC247: Let's talk about you. What does a Chief Compliance Officer do exactly?

MF: The way that I describe that is I'm responsible for the company's “how.” We talk a lot about the “what” and the “how.” We're focused on what we do, but we're equally focused on how we do it and making sure that we're the kind of company that employees want to work for, customers want to work with, and investors can feel safe investing in.

I make sure we are doing business the right way - legally, ethically, inclusively, etc. Some of what I do is reactive depending on a situation that might occur. Our business is very varied. It's a huge employee population base - over 130,000 team members. And there's there's always something new waiting around the corner, which is what I like about it.

SC247: Okay, let's do some rapid-fire questions before we go. What's your favorite productivity tool or app?

MF: I'm an old-fashioned list person. Any app where I can see my lists and cross off items when they're done.

SC247: What do you think's the most useful skill in the supply chain industry?

MF: Time management is critical because there's so much coming at you all the time. I also think EQ is very important.

SC247: What's the biggest myth about working in the supply chain?

MF: We talked about how people think that it's an old boys club but that really isn't the case anymore.

SC247: What would you be doing if you weren't GXO's Chief Compliance and ESG Officer?

MF: I like working as a lawyer at a company. That being said, if I won the Mega Millions, I would not sit around a computer at all. I would be a travel photographer.

SC247: What's the best career advice you've ever received?

MF: Don't shy away from a challenge. If you're intimidated, ask yourself, “Why not? Why can't I do this?”

SC247: How do you like to relax after a long day at work?

MF: I love hiking and being outdoors, but more so as a weekend activity.

SC247: What's the one podcast you can't live without?

MF: The Daily

SC247: What was the first job you ever had?

MF: When I was 15, I spent the summer as a lifeguard at a retirement community.