Paula Marshall, Chairman & CEO, The Bama Companies, Tulsa, Okla.
Generation of family ownership: Third.
Revenue: $400 million.
Number of employees: Approximately 900 in the U.S. and 400 in the U.K. and Poland. Our China business, of which we still own 25%, has approximately 500 employees.
First job at this company: At 18, I ran our thrift store on weekends. We took the day-old pies that were returned from the delivery routes and priced them at a discount. I also baked our 10-inch pies, including apple, cherry and boysenberry. If one was a little burnt, I'd cut up the rest and put the pieces under glass cases as samples. We were on the old Route 66, so we had a lot of walk-in business and I got to know the local customers. My dad was starting to transform the company from fresh products to frozen, so I was around for the beginning of that.
Most memorable thing I learned from my father: My dad had a fierce personality and was extremely determined about some things, which didn't always serve him well, but I've tried to emulate his drive and ability to focus on a goal. When I was very young, I remember hearing him say that he was going to find a customer he could sell a million pies to in a day, and hardly anyone paid attention. But he met Ray Croc from McDonald's in 1960 and did just that.
Most memorable thing I learned from my mother: My mom was the company treasurer. She also helped out in the plant and ran the office, doing the billing and the payroll and keeping a tight grip on the finances. She taught me about paying attention to money matters and taking the good part of my dad's dreams and understanding that you should let things go when something isn't working.
Our greatest successes: One is the ability to forge partnerships and have relationships of 30 or 40 years with large customers and global food companies, and another is writing our mission statement as a team: “People helping people be successful through love and accountability.” It's things like that and the relationships you've had while working on them that I consider successes. A third one is having worked with management expert W. Edwards Demming and understanding the Demming system, which helped us turn our company around in the 1990s and undertake some mega projects.
On my wall: I have tons of mementos. I framed the order form for the first truckload of biscuits a company bought from us in 1992. Our Malcom Baldridge National Quality Award from 2005 is there, also.
One of my greatest accomplishments: I'm so blessed to have been born into this family and to be leading it as a woman. Also, I've stopped being overly critical of myself, which I consider a big achievement. In addition, I'm especially proud of the Bama Caring Center we opened in 2017. A few family members and I renovated a storage building that we staffed with a therapist, a lawyer and a receptionist and opened as a resource for our team members. I especially wanted to help our hourly workers who might need assistance.
Advice for other family business leaders: I had a great relationship with my father's plant manager, Pat George. When we would wring our hands over something, she'd always say, “You know, Paula, it'll always come out in the wash,” which she'd pronounce “warsh.” She was not highly educated, but she was a hard worker. Remember, whatever happens, it will all come out in the warsh. Also, when you're thinking about keeping the business in the family, make sure your children have a passion for it and are not just appointed or anointed to a role. I've seen kids fail when they lack that passion for the products or customers.
On a day off, I… play tennis, golf, bike and walk. I'm an outdoor girl. Also, I love history and architecture, so I watch documentaries and go to museums and dig sites.
Books I think every family business leader should read: The William Deming books on the theory of management, and Stephen Covey's books, such as The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
Future succession plans: When I retire, my son and daughter will own the company shares and a management team will run the business with them.
Philanthropic causes our family supports: Our primary charity is our urban garden, Food on the Move. We're developing vertical gardens that use less water to try to improve farming techniques, and our team members volunteer there. We have weekly festivals where we give food away, and we're opening a distribution center to distribute food for local farmers. We also support a lot of non-profits in Tulsa, such as the Ronald McDonald House, and I have a ministry in Ghana that builds schools. We've built six, including a vo-tech, to help the children have a better life.
Words I live by: Love and honor every soul every second.