Linda Rendle’s first job at The Clorox Company, 18 years ago, was as a sales analyst for the charcoal and insecticides businesses. Last September, she became the first woman CEO in the company’s 108-year history. “It’s an incredible honor,” says the 43-year-old exec, and it came at an extraordinary moment, when the pandemic was driving rapid growth (sales jumped 8 percent in 2020), which prompted unprecedented supply challenges. “We ran many of our facilities 24-7, building supply chains from scratch,” Rendle says. “We had a joint mission of keeping people safe, as well as getting them back to living their lives.”
On the benefits of growing within a company
“Most people don’t think, ‘I’m picking this company because I want to be there for 20 years.’ The reason I chose Clorox was because I saw a company that shared the values that I hold important, with ‘do the right thing’ being the most important. When you start with that foundation, then you can explore in a way that is utterly consistent with who you are. I was in sales, in operations, I got to run businesses, and every step along that journey prepared me for this.”
On the challenges of the pandemic
“The biggest one was getting enough supply for people, once we made sure all of our teammates were safe. Sometimes we had demand as high as 500 percent of what we would have had pre-COVID. There’s no supply chain that’s built to meet that type of demand. We were having to source raw materials in quantities we hadn’t sourced before. As countries and borders shut down, getting goods in became a challenge. Machinery that normally takes 24 months just to build—never mind to ship and install—we were trying to get in a matter of months.”
On the advantages of being a woman CEO
“Most women make the shopping decisions in a family—I certainly do. I think having that perspective has helped a lot. And I’m not only a woman, I’m an introverted woman, so I tend to listen more than I talk, and that allows me to collect diverse perspectives. I hope to bring out the opinions and values of others and create a good debate, where people aren’t afraid to speak up.”
On how to become a good leader
“The most important thing you can do is know what your values are, and work for a company [that shares them]. Or, if you create your own business, lead by those values. The second is to be curious. Try new things—taking risks and failing will make you a better leader. Finally, you have to be willing to speak up and tell people the truth, even if it’s information they don’t want to hear. That always serves you well in the long run, even though it sometimes takes enormous courage. I think it can be a difficult thing for some women, so finding a mentor who can help you practice would be another piece of advice. I have my own personal board of directors— people who know me really well and who aren’t afraid to tell me what they see, even if it’s bad.”
Last year, United teamed up with Clorox for our United CleanPlusSM program, which puts safety and cleanliness at the forefront of your travel experience. Learn more at united.com/cleanplus.
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