Womtech: LOLA GARCÍA

Lola García Blanco studied Business Administration at the Carlos III University of Madrid. Her professional career has been closely linked to the supply chain, specializing in sourcing departments. She also has a master's degree in international trade and she is level 4 certified by the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS). She joined the procurement department of Holcim EMEA Digital Center 8 years ago.
 

What is your role in this company?

I work as Senior Procurement Analyst at Holcim EMEA Digital Center. My work consists essentially in obtaining the products and services that best suit the needs of our internal customers, ensuring the best economic and contractual conditions, minimizing risks and trying to achieve service assurance and continuity of supply.

What are the most compelling qualities of great leaders?

For me, integrity is a must. A good leader must be a role model of integrity and values, someone who can be trusted and who is perceived as a point of reference while at the same time delegating and showing confidence in the professionalism of his or her team. 
Another thing that is becoming increasingly important is the ability to adapt to ever-changing environments and the resilience to cope with them. 
In order to transmit this confidence, communication skills are essential to listen to and understand the team and to show them the best way to achieve their objectives.

When you face challenges, what encourages you?

What encourages me most is the feeling after having overcome any kind of challenge, the satisfaction that comes from effort, from perseverance and from having put all the resources at my disposal to achieve any objective, especially in the complicated and ever-changing environments in which we move more and more often.

Do you think that diversity and gender equality are already a reality?

I believe that we are on the right track and that the progress made in recent years has been important, but I also believe that we still have a long way to go in discarding false beliefs that lead to inequalities in reality and, even in some countries, in the laws themselves.

Who inspires you?

I am inspired by many people, mainly by all those who do their bit to make the world a more diverse place where everyone has the same opportunities to develop personally and professionally. 
My own parents are a source of inspiration, they always challenged me not to just accept things as they are, but to question any kind of statement that implied real or possible inequality or injustice.
I have a deep admiration for the women who were pioneers in professions that at the time were considered masculine and who broke down barriers and paved the way for all the others. As for the best-known role models or those whose names appear in history books, women such as Clara Campoamor (promoter and defender of universal suffrage in Spain), Carmen de Burgos (the first Spanish war journalist), Amelia Earhart (first woman pilot to fly alone across the Atlantic Ocean) and many others.