Women in Operations: Meet Kelly Guay

Operations often revolve around machines, production schedules and quantifiable metrics, but for Kelly Guay, Mosinee Plant Manager, operations is about the people.

With more than 25 years of manufacturing experience to lean on, Kelly has been with Ahlstrom for six years, four years in the plant manager role. Her has career path spanned various responsibilities and industries including process engineering, production leadership, managing a pilot lab in the Paper Science Department at her alma mater, sheet metal manufacturing, and mill management.

Today, she describes her work through three priorities: vision, finances, and people. While she keeps a pulse on equipment and performance, her focus is on setting direction, supporting teams and making sure people have the tools and resources they need to succeed.

Choosing operations

Kelly’s career began as a process engineer after earning her degree in pulp and paper manufacturing from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Early on, she saw that women in the industry were often encouraged to pursue technical, quality or environmental roles. 

Although many women were not choosing operations as their path, Kelly felt that an operations path may be tough, but it was also where she could make the greatest impact.  “I can do the math and the engineering,” Kelly said, “but I’d rather be with people and help them discover how to be better operators or help operators aspiring to pursue leadership tracks to develop those skill sets. That’s what I thrive on.”

As plant manager, Kelly’s responsibilities span safety, employee engagement, budgeting, capital planning, customer needs and long-term strategy. No two days look alike, but her approach remains constant: connect teams around priorities and help frontline leaders lead well. “It’s setting everyone up with the right tools and resources to be successful with whatever it is that we’re doing,” she said. 

And that also includes during seasons of significant change. 

Earlier this year, Mosinee experienced asset closures and reductions in force, for Kelly, those were some her least favorite moments of her career. Although leading through change requires navigating complexity and challenges, Kelly says there is also a benefit to helping people understand the vision, even when the path is difficult.

“The rewarding part is when people see the vision and help you execute it” she said. “Earning trust and respect is not always easy, but when what is best for the people and what is best for the company align, that is definitely the most rewarding.”

Kelly has seen manufacturing change significantly over the past 25 years, from manual logs and limited email access to digital systems, automated data, and real-time troubleshooting tools. She believes the future of operations will rely heavily on digitalization and likely include AI, especially when those tools help operators solve problems faster and make safe, high-quality products more efficiently.

Kelly’s leadership journey

Kelly has often said, “I grew up in a pulp mill,” so it's not surprising that one of her proudest career moments was a promotion to business unit manager of a pulp mill. The role was responsible for logs through bleached product being sent to the paper machines.  

She says the new role was a pivotal moment for her because her male supervisor recognized her strengths and how she could make an impact. “I knew every catwalk, I knew every person’s name, I knew the systems,” she said. “It was really cool to be recognized and seen for my capability.”

Kelly describes herself as extroverted but says there have been times when she felt intimidated to speak freely. So, inside her own leadership journey she’s prioritized paying attention to who is at the table and recognizing who has spoken and who hasn’t.

“Sometimes the people who haven’t said anything, can have the best insight or a different viewpoint that can make you rethink the topic,” she said. “Make sure everyone gets a chance to talk."

Kelly also emphasizes the importance of cultivating a strong relationship with the plant’s union and its leadership. She adds that good working relationships with union leaders are built on transparency, mutual respect, and a shared commitment to making things better.

Strong teams seek out different perspectives, work through disagreement and value constructive conflict. That “spicy dialogue,” can make a team stronger when people move through it together.

Advice for women considering operations

For young women considering a career in manufacturing or operations, Kelly says that finding mentors and defining what balance means for you are keys to success in a manufacturing environment.

She did not have many women mentors early in her career, simply because there were not many women in comparable operations roles around her. Over time, she built a broad network of trusted advisors including women and men, both inside and outside the company, who could help her think through difficult situations and celebrate successes

“You need people you trust and can bounce things off of,” she said. “Sometimes you may need to find someone outside your company or in another part of your life. It doesn’t matter where they come from. You need somebody to share the heavy stuff with, and to share the joy of accomplishments.

Balance, she adds, is not a perfect 50-50 split every day. It changes with seasons of life. The key is to advocate for yourself, be present where you need to be, and recognize that both work and life matter.

Lastly Kelly advises aspiring female operations leaders to immerse themselves into their current role and treat it as an opportunity to learn and prepare for what is next. “Be patient, build expertise and take time to learn something deeply before looking toward the next opportunity.” 

Kelly sees more women in manufacturing today than when she began her career, and she is encouraged by the growing diversity of thought and experience in operations. Early in her career, she believes she may have been among the first women hired as an engineer who stayed in operations instead of moving into quality or environmental roles.

“There were a few glass ceilings broken,” she said. “It wasn’t always easy. But hopefully we’re making it easier for every person who comes behind us — regardless of gender, background or perspective.”