Lara Mae D Chollette
What is your occupation/job/career?
Human Resources Leader. Currently, I am the head of HR at Ellenos.
City/State/Country do you reside in?
Seattle, WA, USA
During this world pandemic what is one thing you keep in the back of your mind that you remind yourself of daily?
There is still goodness and kindness in humanity.
There is still goodness and kindness in humanity.
LARA MAE D CHOLLETTE
How has your business/workflow been effected? Do you see yourself bouncing back fully or do you see a shift in your business/career?
Right now, I am grateful that my employer, www.ellenos.com, is deemed an essential business since we are a food manufacturer. Our yummy yogurt has fared well on the grocery shelves so please pick one up for yourself next time! Our retail locations in Pike Place and Georgetown have been shut down temporarily since March 15th. We are working on our e-commerce business and preparing for when we can open back up.
I truly believe that we were one of the first businesses to execute on our Crisis Management Plan when the virus started to become a huge impact back in the end of February. During the past few weeks, our company values have been put under the stress test just like every other company. We are laser-focused on three objectives during this crisis : 1) Ensure the health and well-being of our team members; 2) Ensure business continuity; and 3) Protect our product and our brand. And because our leadership team is clearly aligned on our values and how we "operationalize" them, I continue to have pride in how we have made decisions and how we have communicated with our work family.
We are confident that we will remain steady but it will be a long time to get back the momentum that we had started with in 2020.
In my personal time, I am also a full-time educator to our kids.
In a perfect virus free world with all expenses paid, where would you travel to for vacation?
I would LOVE to go on one of those Around the World Tour Packages where you basically visit every continent! And hopefully, this will also be a paid Sabbatical.
What are you known for?
Just in my humble opinion, I am known for being able to nurture relationships that are authentic - whether personal, professional or both.
If you were to sit on a panel with Oprah and Michelle Obama, what would you want the discussion topic to be on?
All of our crushes and why! We already know a lot about them professionally so I want to have and honest and fun "girl talk" - no limits. And of course, with wine or something stronger.
Is there anything you'd like to share or words of encouragement for those who may be having a very challenging time during this pandemic?
One breath at a time. One thought at a time. Love yourself. Love others. Love unconditionally. Reach out and lean on someone. If you don't have anyone, you can reach out to me and I will make time.
*** If there is anything outside of the above questions you'd like to share... please feel free! ****
I honestly don't want to go back to normal. We were killing Mother Earth. We were caught up in materialism. We paid attention to the wrong people. Let's all collectively find a NEW normal that was better than before.
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Instagram: @thrillafrmanila
LinkedIn: Lara Mae D Chollette
