“Encouraging Women to Become Leaders”

Fabiana Larese, Vice President of Human Resources, Claridge Products, is steadfast in her commitment to creating a culture of respect and collaboration at Claridge. She works tirelessly to ensure a level playing field and that all employees have opportunities for growth and recognition. Her creative approach to human resources management has already made a significant positive impact on the organization; from the simple idea that all new hires should have goals to help measure early performance, to driving new initiatives related to company culture, diversity, and inclusion.

According to Fabiana, there are always going to be barriers, be they purposeful or unintentional. “Ultimately, after so many years in my profession, I’ve realized that one of the barriers is actually me. There are so many emotions tied to questions like ‘where is your career headed?’ and ‘what do you aspire to do?’, that they can actually cloud your judgment,” she says. “Instead of trying so hard to knock down barriers, I found a better way by just walking around them.”

In Fabiana’s opinion, women do not receive enough leadership from other successful professional women or are not encouraged to be leaders. Many capable women are not in positions of leadership because they believe they are incapable of doing so. They don't believe in their abilities. They don't regard themselves as leaders and cannot assume or be seen in that capacity since they do not see themselves as such. “More women will view themselves in a leadership position if we all provide encouragement and engagement with women in powerful roles. To all the women aspiring to be leaders, my advice would be to follow your gut, be confident, and don’t apologize for who you are” says Fabiana.

“More women will view themselves in a leadership position if we all provide encouragement and engagement with women in powerful roles. To all the women aspiring to be leaders, my advice would be to follow your gut, be confident, and don’t apologize for who you are ” says Fabiana.”

During her first few years in the HR world, Fabiana worked for a woman who became her role model. Her name was Valorie Davis. She hired Fabiana as a Regional HR Generalist for an insurance holding company. Valorie was the VP of Human Resources, and she was a confident, hardworking, clever, and a strong-willed leader. “For many years, I worked with Valorie and admired her, thinking she was the successful professional leader I aspired to be. She was highly focused on supporting her team members’ goals, whether personal or professional, and simultaneously developing high-quality programs for the company.”

Talking about leadership, Fabiana says it’s challenging to become a leader if you are not seen. “If you're not visible, put yourself in a position to take the stage. This is something that others can do for you, but it is also something that you can do for yourself.” She adds, “Take a look at the power of social media and how you can actually spread your own message. Make your voice heard.” Armed with these unique ideologies, Fabiana is taking the company to new heights.

Claridge Products was born in 1947 as a solution to lesser quality chalkboards and writing surfaces. The company founder sold chalkboards and believed that new materials and manufacturing processes could create a superior writing surface. His proprietary methods served as the foundation for operations still in use by the company today. Claridge continues to help improve collaboration and visual communication through new offerings such as glass writing surfaces and mobile whiteboards.

Claridge products remain the number one choice of educational facilities throughout North America. 95 percent of learning institutions, from K-12 schools to universities, have Claridge writing surfaces installed in their classrooms. In 2022, they will celebrate their 75th anniversary, which is a remarkable achievement for any business. Their products have been used by NASA, Apple, Google, Microsoft, the NFL, and NBA, among other notable organizations. “We continue to look for innovative ways to help our customers collaborate and share ideas. One of our core mottos is “turn workspaces into idea places,” and that’s one of the biggest ways we can help our customers grow and evolve with the changing times,” says Fabiana. “As offices and schools continue to explore the new normal, we will be there to provide solutions that are both functional and beautiful.” IEWL