“Schwan’s Women Leading Forward” is a mini series of stories about some of the leaders who help make Schwan's Company and its subsidiaries a great place to work.
Dubbeldee shares what she is passionate about at Schwan’s
Aug. 29, 2019 — If you are curious about the career and development opportunities at Schwan’s Company, one person you may want to talk to is Lori Dubbeldee, Schwan’s Food Service’s vice president of finance. Throughout her 19-year journey with Schwan’s, she has served in a wide variety of roles in the company’s accounting and IT teams. And now, she is paying it forward and helping develop others as a leader and a mentor.
“Throughout my career, I am most proud of having seen and continuing to see the people on my team grow and advance their careers,” Lori said. “While I hate to lose someone off my direct team, I love helping them achieve their goals and seeing them promoted to new level within the organization.”
In a recent interview, Lori shared what she likes most about Schwan’s and what she is passionate about.
Q: What are you passionate about in your job?
A: I love seeing the results, be it financials, sales growth, new product innovation or the growth and development of individuals around me.
Q: What is a typical day like in your role?
A: There really is no typical day, and that’s what I love about it. Each day brings a new challenge. One day I could be reviewing financials and doing deep dives into the P&L. Another day I could be discussing production line time. The next day, we could be forecasting out 10 years into the future to look at investment and capital needs. It keeps me on my toes!
Q: What career advice would you give to your younger self?
A: Don’t be afraid to take the risk.
Q: What do our company vision and values mean to you? How do you demonstrate them in your day-to-day work?
A: Our values have remained constant and strong throughout my career here. I love that we call out “Growth” as one of our values. I’ve held many different roles within the company. Schwan’s really believes in growing and developing its employees. It provides new opportunities, which then breeds enthusiasm. While we may not enjoy every minute of every day, if we can bring forth enthusiasm and a positive attitude, it makes every day a great day. I am also a firm believer that combining hard work and integrity in all that you do can take you far in life. Lastly, helping one another is the company value I am most passionate about. I love the people I work with and helping others achieve their goals and watching them develop and flourish is one of the most rewarding things about working here.
Q: What does working as “one Schwan’s team” mean to you?
A: One Schwan’s team means we are all in this together. We need to come together to advance the company. This includes collaborating on new ideas, solving problems as a cross-company team and looking out for the best interest of all.
Q: How would you describe the culture at Schwan’s?
A: The culture has changed drastically in my years here. It gets better every year. We have embraced authentic leadership and being your authentic self. We also have a culture of development and giving back. I have had numerous opportunities to be a mentor circle leader, a board member of our Young Professionals Network, a member of our Schwan’s Women’s Network and a mentor in the University of Minnesota’s WILL (Women Invested in Leadership and Learning) program. These are just a few of the opportunities the company provides.
Q: What do you like best about the culture?
A: I like being able to have honest conversations at all levels. By embracing authentic leadership, we are able to advance all conversations and teams for the greater good. No one has to wonder if their idea is worth bringing up. Everyone’s voice counts.
Q: What is something about you that most people at Schwan’s do not know?
A: I was born and raised in Marshall, Minnesota, which is where my parents, siblings and all their families still reside. Also, I have two undergrad degrees. The first is a bachelor’s in accounting and the other is in computer science. I earned an MBA with a concentration in leadership.
Q: What is your favorite food product from Schwan’s Company?
A: There really are so many to choose from. I am a huge pizza lover so I’ll go with Red Baron® Classic Crust Pepperoni. However, I am also very fond of the dumplings and sticky rice found at Costco from CJ CheilJedang.
Q: What are you most looking forward to in our company’s future?
A: I am looking forward to seeing our growth with CJ CheilJedang. After visiting Korea, I think the potential of this company is beyond anything we could have ever achieved alone.
