In Boeing’s military aircraft division alone, the company subcontracts $7 billion annually in products and services. Because those aircrafts also need spare parts and maintenance, Boeing’s global services and support arm is responsible for an additional $4 billion in material annually.
Pamela Wall-Dover’s job for Boeing Defense, Space & Security, headquartered in St. Louis, is to help carve out opportunities for small and diverse subcontractors within those billions. She’s the senior manager of supplier diversity for Boeing military aircraft, global services & support and general procurement.
Among Boeing’s supply and operations employees in St. Louis, Wall-Dover also fosters professional growth by leading a career development program that she created two years ago.
“I see my role as a dual role from a diversity perspective,” she said. “One, of course, is the integration of diverse suppliers in our sourcing strategy. The other is working within the organization to create a pipeline of future talent. Part of succession planning is not just working with folks a level or two behind you, but it’s also preparing employees early in their career for their next level assignment.”
Wall-Dover will be recognized as 2012 Corporate Executive of the Year on Thursday, Nov. 15 at the 13th annual Salute to Excellence in Business Awards & Networking Luncheon at the Ritz-Carlton, St. Louis. The networking reception begins at 11 a.m., and the luncheon and program start at noon.
The event is jointly hosted by the St. Louis American Foundation, St. Louis RCGA and the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis.
From automotive and cosmetics to Boeing
Wall-Dover is a self-proclaimed “military brat.” Although originally from Franklin, Tennessee, she grew up all over the country because her stepfather was in the U.S. Army. When he retired, her family returned home to Tennessee. In addition to completing junior high and high school in Tennessee, she graduated from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville with a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering.
“I’ve been fortunate because my industrial engineering degree has translated into multiple career opportunities,” she said.
Wall-Dover began her career as an industrial engineer in the automotive and furniture industries, including Harvard Industries and Herman Miller. She rose to senior engineer status at Herman Miller. However, initially her long term plan was being a plant manager.
Mary Kay Cosmetics in Dallas gave her that opportunity in operations management, and it also led her to working in global procurement and contract manufacturing. This role allowed her to use her manufacturing and operations leadership experiences to find companies globally that could manufacture products under the Mary Kay brand.
When she came to Boeing nine years ago, she started in supplier diversity for naval systems. She felt her experience in engineering, operations and procurement all came together at Boeing.
“They were looking for someone with a technical background,” she said. “It helps to have someone who can talk the talk – someone who understands manufacturing so you can facilitate the dialogue that needs to occur with engineering and supplier management to see if a supplier is a good fit.”
Her responsibilities in supplier diversity have expanded significantly, and so has her leadership role at Boeing. Two years ago, she was asked to revamp a career development program. Leading a cross-functional team across the site, they decided to take it in a different direction.
“We didn’t want to recreate something that already existed,” she said.
Most career development programs at Boeing focus on senior level employees and mid-level managers. The program the team developed is unique. It focused on a group of employees who were not eligible for development programs previously, including entry-level and collective bargaining unit employees.
“In our first graduating class, 30 percent received promotions,” she said. “To us that’s great. The structure and relationship-building that the program provided helped those individuals document their career goals and achieve the next step.”
As much as she is concerned about closing the skill gap and preparing the next wave of leaders, she said, “Continuing to learn myself is also a priority.”
Since being at Boeing, she received her masters in management from Fontbonne University.
“Over the years, I’ve learned that career progression is as much about timing and preparation as it is about planning,” she said.
Wall-Dover is not only committed to her Boeing community but also to her St. Louis community. She was a graduate of the INROADS, Nashville program, where she learned the importance of community service, she said.
For seven years, Wall-Dover has been on the board of Safe Connections, an organization that helps survivors of domestic violence. For the last four years she’s also been on the board at the Youth and Family Center, an organization that provides life skills, education and recreation and after school programs for the client families they serve. Both organizations are members of United Way.
Although she did not grow up in St. Louis, she and her son feel they have found a strong foundation through their faith family at The First Baptist Church of Chesterfield.
“The church has been the source of strength for us,” she said. “Some people ask, ‘How do you go from automotive to office furniture to cosmetics to Boeing?’ I just say, ‘It’s the grace of God.’”
Tickets to the 13th annual Salute to Excellence in Business Awards & Networking Luncheon at the Ritz-Carlton, St. Louis are $75 each for general seating, tables of 10 available for $750; $100 each for Preferred/VIP seating, tables of 10 available for $1,000. Call 314-533-8000 or visit stlamerican.com.
