Gina Rodriguez – Heat Treat Today 40 Under 40

Name: Gina Rodriguez
Company: Paulo
Position: Quality Assurance Manager
Commercial Heat Treater
Years in Industry: 3

Gina Rodriguez is a natural leader: Her “Yes, we can” attitude sets her apart from other heat treaters, always leading by example and stimulating critical thinking both within her team of direct reports and through her indirect circle of influence in the operational team.

Gina’s leadership at Paulo as a great mentor for her team draws in part on her excellent knowledge expertise: She has earned her degree as Ingeniero en manufactura, Ingenieria from Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon. But her advanced technical expertise combined with her communication style and pursuit of excellence have been critical for the success of the company’s mission.

Currently, Gina applies her leadership in the capacity of manager of Quality Assurance at Paulo Heat Treating, Mexico. However, previous leadership positions include her time at Danfoss (a Denmark-based refrigeration equipment manufacturer), specifically at their Mexico Center of Excellence. Her work history also includes time at Alfmeier Friedrichs & Rath LLC as a quality engineer and at STERIS as a Ingeniero de Calidad Jr.

Her growth mindset is pervasive at Paulo, accompanied by a permanent initiative for continuous improvement. For example, Gina actively pursues excellent customer satisfaction and full compliance to all Quality Management System requirements. To do so, she has initiated internal developments, accomplishing the retrofit of Quality Management System, bi-lingual policies, procedures, and work instructions. Additionally, Gina’s eye on the future success of the company shines through her implementation of a robust onboarding process within Paulo for all levels of new hires.

As a critical team member, Gina is optimistic but realistic, creative, honest, and responsible, eager to learn new things. Leading by example, she likes to work as a team, improve as a person day-by-day, and see opportunities to apply the knowledge she has acquired through her professional career. A picture of leading by example, Gina pursues better performance and is mindful of keeping business objectives visible. When the company was implementing a new program, Gina was there ready, launching new metallographic testing procedures for the new program (transmission components) in record time.

Paulo is thankful to Gina for all her contributions, noting that she has a bright future.

Nominated by: Paulo