Shefali Power & Susan L. Kapcoe - Leading Ladies of Roofing IT - PODCAST TRANSCRIPT

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of a live interview with Shefali Power and Susan L. Kapcoe of the Tremco IT group. You can read the interview below or listen to the podcast.

Intro: Welcome to Roofing Road Trips. The podcast that takes you on a thrilling journey across the world of roofing. From fascinating interviews with roofing experts to on the road adventures we'll uncover the stories, innovations and challenges that shape the rooftops over our heads. So fasten your seat belts and join us as we embark on this exciting Roofing Road Trip.

Hello everyone. My name is Megan Ellsworth here at RoofersCoffeeShop.com, and you are listening to a Roofing Road Trip. I'm so excited because I'm talking about one of my favorite topics today, women in the trades. And I'm talking with two leading ladies at Tremco WTI working in the IT and construction field. So, hello Shefali and Sue. I am so glad to have you here.

Susan L. Kapcoe: Nice to meet you.

Shefali Power: Thank you.

Megan Ellsworth: Yay. Okay, Sue, can you start us out and just introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about your role at Tremco?

Susan L. Kapcoe: Sure. I have been with Tremco for about 25 years, 16 in the IT department.

Megan Ellsworth: Wow.

Susan L. Kapcoe: And I'm responsible for SAP's service management module, HR, time and payroll and a little bit of sales and distribution and plant maintenance.

Megan Ellsworth: Cool. Awesome. Wide breadth, that's very cool. Shefali, can you introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about your role?

Shefali Power: My name is Shefali Power and I started at Tremco at the tender age of 25, 1998. So there you go.

Megan Ellsworth: Wow.

Shefali Power: You can do some math. But when I started at Tremco, I started in the IT department directly. I was a developer and I got to work right away with roofing. And then I moved into supporting WTI as well. Moved over into the SAP team, which is more around supporting business processes, not just developing. And in that role, I have moved across sales service and now I support the Americas region around all of that, soon to be global.

Megan Ellsworth: Wow, that's awesome. Huge. I love it. So I know you both kind of just told us a little bit about your roles. Could you share some of your story of your career in IT in construction? Maybe Sue, you can go first.

Susan L. Kapcoe: Sure. I started back in 1998 just working for a little satellite sales office, and I was responsible for filing warranties and approving expense reports. And about a year later, I had been working a lot with the head of the field resources group grant and he kind of poached me to work at the corporate office. Once I got in there, we only had like 30 employees, it was so small compared to what it is today. We have over a thousand field reps.

Megan Ellsworth: Wow.

Susan L. Kapcoe: I just couldn't believe it's grown that much. But yeah, so I started working my way up through WTI and I was responsible for administration and billing jobs and still expense reports. But then I got a little crew under me and the two or three of us grew. And then eventually I was put as a supervisor over the administration group. And at a certain point in time, I think I was sent to do like a SAP conference, a user's conference. And I went with some of the ladies that had trained me on how to use SAP, and they were so nice and so welcoming. And we went out one night and we were just talking about SAP. I was like, I really want to do what they're doing. They get to travel sometimes for their job and they really enjoy what they're doing, and they did such a good job training me and they were always just so great. And I was like, I'm going to do that someday.

So I eventually applied. I had to apply twice because I didn't quite have the experience they needed. But the second time I got the job and I've been doing that for about 16 years since. And I just love it. So I'm super glad I took that chance and explored those options.

Megan Ellsworth: That's awesome. That's great. That really goes to show you got to step out of your comfort zone and just do it.

Susan L. Kapcoe: Yeah, for sure.

Megan Ellsworth: Shefali, could you share a little bit of your career journey and some of your experiences in IT?

Shefali Power: Sure. I actually was working with SAP prior to joining Tremco. I was training other people on how to use and work on SAP. But when I wanted to come back to Cleveland and live here, the first place that I'd spoken to was Tremco. And when I walked in, it was really about just what a strong team and family oriented environment Tremco had. That really drew me in. We talked a lot about what we do as a company.

Which when I talked to a lot of other companies and a lot of folks in IT believe that what you're doing in IT is really ... you could be selling widgets, you could be ... it doesn't matter. Your job in IT is just your job in IT. And that really wasn't the approach at Tremco, and I really loved that. And I think that that really is why we are a very successful partner as IT. We care about what is happening in the business, not about having the fanciest tools and having the technology ... we are technologists who work with business. And I think that was what drew me in as an IT professional. And then to find out we do stuff that I can go look at and I can point to other people, hey, this is what my company does and I get to be part of this. That was really exciting. It's tangible.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, I love that. Yeah, I love being able to have a sense of pride in what you're doing and what your company is a part of. That just makes the workday, A, go faster and more special. You're fulfilled in that sense-

Shefali Power: Yes, yes.

Megan Ellsworth: So I love that. Cool.

Shefali Power: It was also great that we were a Cleveland based company. That is a fantastic kind of hometown pride.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. Love it. So Sue, why have you had such a long career with Tremco?

Susan L. Kapcoe: Just that I always thought I'd never stay someplace longer than like three years. Because I get bored and I move to something else. There has never been a time at Tremco where I've been bored and stuck. There's always been some new opportunity, some new project, some new thing that wasn't there before. I mean, just the growth that we've had and the ability to support all of these projects over the years and the number of tech reps we've grown from and the changes that the roofing division has seen. So it's just a lot of change and that's why I like it. It's not boring.

Megan Ellsworth: That's great. Yeah, it keeps you on your toes. Exactly. Shefali, why have you been with Tremco for so long?

Shefali Power: A lot of what Sue said. It's ever-changing and it's ever-growing, we get to solve problems every day. The thing that I always want is to, at the end of the day, feel like I have made someone's job, someone's life better. And I have that opportunity every day. But Tremco itself is a really good ... and really the roofing division, there's a lot of really strong long-term folks. As I said, we've been here for a while, but we have friends that have been here longer than us in our cell here. And that sort of family feeling that we get from being and developing those relationships within the company as a whole. But definitely on that roofing side, we know a lot of folks and it's really nice. You feel like you're working with your friends.

Megan Ellsworth: I love that. And there's so many of you Tremco people that have been there for 16 plus years, like the two of you. And that really speaks to the environment of the company, the culture. It's really impressive from an outsider's point of view.

Susan L. Kapcoe: There's just a lot of nice people that work here and just ... it's very true.

Megan Ellsworth: Maybe it's a Midwest thing. I love it. Do either of you have any advice for women out there wanting to make the move to lead in IT. Either maybe making the move to IT in general, or maybe they're already in IT and they want to lead that program. Maybe Shefali, you can go first.

Shefali Power: I would say that there's probably two parts to it. The first is, especially women of my generation, we were kind of waiting for someone to give you a chance and to say, hey, here's a chance for you to go do something. But just go, just find something you're passionate about and try. Everywhere these days, they're looking for new ideas, new ways to innovate improvements and show that you know how to do it. And you don't have to be a woman to do that.

Megan Ellsworth: Exactly.

Shefali Power: No one's waiting for you to ... but I think we often kind of wait our turn.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, totally. Sue, any advice?

Susan L. Kapcoe: Yeah, I'd just say take ownership of something. Like something that you like to do. Be the person that everybody comes to, to do that thing. Be the person that knows the answer. And once you do that, you'll just naturally become the leader that people turn to.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, that is true. Yeah, be an expert in your field. How does solving problems in business translate to IT? If that makes sense. Sue, maybe you can go first.

Susan L. Kapcoe: Yeah, I mean, I think IT is a hundred percent probably solving problems.

Megan Ellsworth: Yes.

Susan L. Kapcoe: I mean, there's everything from solving a technical problem to trying to find a new way of doing business or just a new way of doing a process to make it easier, make it less complicated. When you start out with 30 people and you grow to a thousand, the things that you did 20 years ago don't work anymore. And you just have to learn how to solve those issues by trying new things. So I think it's all about being open to change and ideas.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, so true. Not being rigid, being able to move with the current.

Susan L. Kapcoe: Yeah, flexibility.

Megan Ellsworth: Shefali?

Shefali Power: I think I was mentioning it earlier, it's really around listening to what the deep needs that the business has. Often we'll have folks say, I want this. But they might want that, but what they need is something a little deeper. And so sometimes it's a partnership talking, okay, what is your actual business problem? And understanding that problem helps us give a solution that doesn't just fix today's symptom. But fixes or allows for new thoughts and new changes tomorrow.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, that's so true. Because you don't want to just fix today's problem, today's computer or whatever, to have the same problem pop up the next day. Absolutely. That's a great point.

So I know you both started with Tremco in 1998. Great year, great year. How have you both rode the wave of technology since 1998? Because obviously it's been a big wave. And how do you work with all the new technologies and integrations that have risen not only in the last decade, but the last two, three decades? Shefali?

Shefali Power: I think there's ... you got to do a couple things. You got to be a little bit of a self-directed learner. You got to keep up with ... whether it's through reading, whether it's through talking and networking with other people, you need to keep reaching out so that you know what are some of the other toolkits? If the only thing in your toolkit is a hammer, then everything's a nail.

Megan Ellsworth: Right.

Shefali Power: And so understanding what else is out there is important. But also knowing that just because I have a new power drill doesn't mean I need to use it on everything.

Megan Ellsworth: True.

Shefali Power: Judicious application of those new technologies and new tools. And then understanding what is the business driver that ... because a lot of times we will have a new technology that we need for some part of the business or some business need, that we need to understand, we need to interface with, we need to work with. And understanding what is the underlying business need there that helps us be able to figure out how can we take advantage of that.

Megan Ellsworth: Right. What's the goal? Not, what's this cool new shiny toy-

Shefali Power: Right, right.

Megan Ellsworth: And how can we use it?

Shefali Power: How can we use it?

Megan Ellsworth: Sue, how has your experience been with the last two, three decades of technological advances?

Susan L. Kapcoe: Yeah, I'm trying to figure out how we used to get a hold of those tech guys when they had to change an expense report back in 1998.

Megan Ellsworth: Man.

Susan L. Kapcoe: I mean, [inaudible 00:15:10] were calling your home phone, right?

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah.

Susan L. Kapcoe: So since then we've got cell phones. I mean, that's a huge change. No, I've always been kind of an early adopter. So when new things come out, I love to try them. And I volunteered when we got a new software to do our testing with, I volunteered to help roll that out to our people. And five years on, I'm still supporting people that use it.

So I jumped on the AI bandwagon two years ago or whatever it was, and I taught myself how to use prompts to make myself a two-week vacation itinerary. And now I use some version of AI every single day. It either helps me find things that I've written, finesse specifications, summarize long documents, meeting notes. I use it all the time. So that's, I think-

Megan Ellsworth: Me too.

Susan L. Kapcoe: The biggest great technological changes.

Shefali Power: If I could add one thing, Sue and I both had a really great experience bringing new technology, like iPhones, into the hands of roofers. And that was ... I think it was about nine years ago when some of the folks were ... they weren't very savvy, they were not excited. Some of them were, but a lot of them weren't. It was like, you want me to use this to do my job? But my job is with my hands. I don't want this.

Susan L. Kapcoe: Putting tar on roofs.

Shefali Power: Right. And a lot of it is just speaking and actually working with individuals and saying, yeah, I get it. Technology isn't always the easiest, that change. And I think that was a great experience for us. We learned so much.

Susan L. Kapcoe: Yeah, and those tech guys now are using their phones every single day-

Shefali Power: All day long.

Susan L. Kapcoe: Every single day one gets one. They're using it to report their time, their materials, their scope of work-

Shefali Power: Awesome.

Susan L. Kapcoe: They're doing-

Shefali Power: Their safety check.

Susan L. Kapcoe: Safety audits, right. Everything.

Megan Ellsworth: Wow.

Shefali Power: It's absolutely ... yeah, it's huge. So being able to, I don't know, help shape that at Tremco was just really awesome.

Megan Ellsworth: That's really cool. It's also such a gift to be able to explain technology to someone that doesn't get it. So well done. I love it.

So some would say, because there's so many women in leadership positions at Tremco and a couple other companies in the roofing sector, that roofing has become ... or construction has become a little bit of a beacon for women in business. Would you agree with that? And if so, why do you think that is?

Shefali Power: I don't know.

Megan Ellsworth: Whoever wants to go first.

Shefali Power: Yeah, I guess I don't know that it is so much as I think that women are recognizing that there are a lot of industries that maybe traditionally we might've thought was not a great fit for women. But really it's not true. There's really nothing about the construction industry that is anti-women. There really isn't any reason that we shouldn't be able to progress and be part of it. And I don't know, it's easy.

Megan Ellsworth: I completely agree. I completely agree. I think there's a lot of room to grow, and I wouldn't call it a beacon for women yet. But who knows, in 20 years it totally could be. Sue, what are your thoughts on this?

Susan L. Kapcoe: I just jotted down all the different careers that we have available to us in just construction and roofing. Like everything from administration, dispatching, managing jobs, warehouse roles, actual roofing. There are lots of women roofers-

Shefali Power: Lots of techs.

Megan Ellsworth: Absolutely.

Susan L. Kapcoe: Just marketing. The only thing I think we're lacking is ... and we have tons of women in leadership, that's great. What we're lacking is women in sales. That's where I would like to see the next growth push. Because there are so many opportunities there that we really need to take charge of those.

Megan Ellsworth: I love that. Okay, for all you women out there listening and you're looking for a job, look at roofing sales. Come on now, let's get you in here.

Okay, so how can people interested in IT, construction, Tremco, get more involved? Are you all hiring? What's a way to get involved with you all?

Shefali Power: I think we're always hiring. It's just a matter of where.

Megan Ellsworth: Perfect. Awesome. Yeah.

Shefali Power: I mean really, it's a very growing industry in a very growing company. So there's all kinds of opportunities, as Sue said, at every level that you want to get into. So that part is open and ready. And if you want to get into or at least understand more, reach out to somebody in the industry. I think that one really great thing about Tremco is we don't really close ourselves off. We like to talk to other people too. So witness this.

Megan Ellsworth: Amazing. Yeah. Yay. Sue, anything to add?

Susan L. Kapcoe: I would just say get involved in some projects. I mean, that's if you're internal and there's so many opportunities just within Tremco to move around. If you're coming from the outside and you want to get a foot in the door, take a job that you think you can do and learn it well. Establish yourself as the leader in that job and then go find another job. I mean, there's always things to do here. And if you're bored in your career, go find something else at Tremco, because Tremco is a great place to work, there are no limitations.

Megan Ellsworth: Love it. Love it. Well, thank you both so, so much for chatting with me. I would personally like to know if there's any last bits of advice you have for women specifically trying to get into IT. Maybe Sue, you can go first.

Susan L. Kapcoe: Just keep your options open. You don't have to necessarily have your end goal in mind. Just getting started by taking a job that you're interested in and seeing where it takes you. I mean, there are just things that you don't even know are possible until you're doing a job. And then you look around and you go, you know what? I could do that better. And then maybe that's your opportunity to get into a different IT role or a role in IT. Yeah, looking around.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, absolutely. Shefali?

Shefali Power: I would say don't be intimidated by the idea that it's IT. There's a lot of people that at Tremco and other organizations where they've moved from roles like sales, they've moved from marketing, they've moved from production planning into an IT role. To what Sue said earlier, understand your world and then you understand the technologies and processes that live with that role. And then you can move into managing that side of it instead of being on the business side. It's not that far and it's not that hard. Don't be intimidated by the fact that you think it's got to be IT, and you have to have this kind of a degree in that kind of background.

Megan Ellsworth: Totally. Totally. That's great advice. And don't be intimidated by AI, start using it, it's so fun.

Shefali Power: Yeah. Use it for anything, and you'll start to realize that it's just not as big of a deal.

Megan Ellsworth: It's great. I love it so much.

Well, thank you so much ladies, for chatting with me again. Everyone out there listening, you can go to the Tremco directory on RoofersCoffeeShop.com. There's a contact page right there. So if you have any questions for these ladies, we'll get them to them so they can reach out to you. And this has been so much fun. So thank you.

Shefali Power: Thank you.

Susan L. Kapcoe: Thank you so much for having us.

Outro: You're so welcome. I will see you next time. And everyone out there listening, please make sure to subscribe and ring the bell so you get notified every time Roofing Road Trips uploads a new episode and we'll see you next time on the next Roofing Road Trip.

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