Michelle Covey ─ Helping companies achieve source-to-store supply chain visibility and ensure the right product is in the right place at the right time for today’s real-time digital economy...
June 2, 2021 • 3 Minute Read
Michelle Covey
Vice President, Commercialization
GS1 US
Are you looking for a leader who can help companies achieve source-to-store supply chain visibility and ensure the right product is in the right place at the right time for today’s real-time digital economy? We know the person—Michelle Covey.
Michelle Covey is currently the Vice President of Partnerships at GS1 US, a global standards organization that helps businesses operate more efficiently by utilizing industry standards (i.e. barcode) for exchanging vital business information. Her primary role is managing all external partner relationships and programs designed to support efficient and accurate GS1 Standards implementation for companies of all sizes. Michelle is also responsible for helping companies achieve source-to-store supply chain visibility, ensuring the right product is in the right place at the right time for today’s real-time digital economy.
Please meet this IT Wondrous Woman™, Michelle Covey.
Our 10 Questions for this IT Wondrous Woman.
Fun Facts
1. What’s the one thing about you that your business colleagues don’t know about you?
I earned my undergraduate degree in horticulture with a main focus in botany courses. I wanted to be a botanist and work in the field of sciences, and to this day, I am an avid gardener.
2. Before the pandemic, how many air miles/KMs did you flying annually?
Before the pandemic, I flew about 70k miles/year, but it has been very nice to be home and not be on the road as much this past year.
3. What is the most adventurous food you have eaten and what city/location did you eat it?
In 2002, I took a 4-month sabbatical to spend time traveling in Australia. While I was there, I tried emu and vegemite. Vegemite is definitely an acquired taste.
Your Career
4. What are the top two experiences, achievements or failures that shaped your journey as a successful leader?
- I believe you have to like what you do to be successful. I truly love my job and the people I work with, both within my company and within the industries we serve.
- You need to be willing to change and adapt quickly. Companies change and priorities shift due to outside influences all the time. Having the ability to shift priorities and focus on meeting the customers’ needs quickly is crucial to success.
5. Did you have a mentor in the early part of your career and, if so, what is the biggest lesson you learned from your mentor or influencer?
I was fortunate to have a couple of great mentors in my career. They encouraged me to learn new things and to stretch myself outside of my comfort zone. I realized new opportunities wouldn’t necessarily come to me, but I’d have to seek them out and work to gain the experience and trust of others by proving that I could accomplish the job.
Walking In Your Shoes
6. What is one piece of business or career advice you would give to your younger self?
Stay focused and work hard, but also find time for work/life balance. Taking the time to enjoy time with family and friends and have outside activities that keeps me active, creates a better balance for me to be productive and successful in my career.
7. As a leader, how do you remain a resource for people early in their careers?
I’m always open and available to help provide advice to those who ask me. I like to provide mentorship similar to what my mentors provided me as I was building my career.
Today’s Business Environment
8. What is the most interesting project you have worked on in the last few years?
With the growth of small businesses moving into digital sales, I led efforts at GS1 US to create an offering to make it easier and more economical for companies to launch their businesses onto large ecommerce platforms.
9. What skills are you currently developing or refining (in yourself) that will make you a more successful leader in the digital economy?
I have been spending more time listening to our customers about how to better identify their products, create consistent content and high-quality images to better list their products for sale on ecommerce platforms.
10. What is your greatest business challenge today?
Our business challenge focuses on helping companies of all sizes utilize standardized data in their business processes, so that any business in the world can accept and understand that data globally. While there’s been great progress with standards adoption, there is still a lot to be done. It’s a balancing act for me from day-to-day to collaborate with whomever I can and build strategic partners to increase the organization’s reach.
