Guest Editorial
By Patricia “Patty” Cobaugh, Executive Vice President of Support Services, Wolf Home Products
It is reported that 80 percent of home improvement projects are initiated by women in the household, making the female perspective in our industry imperative to successfully meeting the growing demand in the marketplace.
From distribution to customer service, communications, product development and executive-level leadership, females have a unique lens to our business, including how products reach and meet the needs of today’s changing homes, delivering products that truly make a structure a home full of memories for a lifetime.
As a female leader, working in building supply for nearly 45 years — 27 of which have been with Wolf Home Products — I’m excited to see more women expressing interest in our industry and being welcomed to the ranks of leadership.
My experiences have given me the opportunity to reflect on how we each play a role in recruiting, mentoring and retaining great female talent to continue enhancing how we respond to the changing market demands and the needs of customers and their homes. Unique perspectives have proven to be key catalysts in how an organization and an industry pivots during challenging times, even like the ones we’ve faced this past year.
I was fortunate to have discovered my passion for the industry at a young age, when I enrolled in an “on-the-job-training” program as a co-op student my senior year of high school, which sparked a lifelong interest. This opportunity led me to a variety of job opportunities and experiences in the building industry, ultimately bringing me to where I am today as the Executive Vice President of Support Services at Wolf Home Products.
My dedication and interest in support services for building products came as more of a natural evolution that occurred as I was encouraged by my male counterparts to take the lead and advance. I always aspired to be part of a world-class customer-service center and provide support throughout the entire channel and organization, including working with internal teams for greater success.
I was originally hired at Wolf Home Products as the Customer Service Manager. Then, I was promoted to Administration Manager and given the opportunity to assist with launching a single administration department for the organization. From there, I was promoted to Director of Wolf’s Project Management department, which led me to my current role as EVP of Support Services, responsible for customer care, procurement and product-related project management activities.
I share my experience of how I advanced because how we build our companies and teams to support greater diversity to ensure unique perspectives are welcomed adds enormous value in how we attract more women to our industry and serve our customers.
I am fortunate to work with a leadership team that encouraged and welcomed me as I navigated a male-dominated industry. And today, I get to pass along that encouragement to fellow females considering and working in the building-supply industry.
I encourage you to consider the role we each play in building confidence in our teams and how we mentor more females through the ranks. Our businesses will be stronger for it.
