Janet Kilbane: Guiding the Way Forward at Covia

NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / December 14, 2023 / Covia

Foto: Accesswire

I never could have imagined that the job opportunity I discovered in a local newspaper would turn into a lifelong career. I've grown both personally and professionally during my 36 years with Covia and am grateful for the friendships I have made and opportunities I have been given to follow my passion for finance and collaboration.

The Willingness to Collaborate

I grew up in Connecticut and attended Miami University in Ohio, where I earned a degree in accounting. Shortly after graduation, my husband and I moved to Chicago, IL, where I found a job as an accountant. We lived there for a year, then two years in Toledo, OH and then my husband was given the opportunity to transfer to a position in New York City. Thanks to the ease of public transportation, we were able to find a place to live in New Canaan, Connecticut, a commuter town, and my husband could easily travel into the city for work.

After the move back to Connecticut, I was looking for a new career opportunity when I found an ad in the local paper for an accounting position at Covia. I applied for the job and the rest is history.

When I started at Covia, I was the youngest person in the office at the age of 25. I started off working in accounts receivable/payable as well as sales reporting. It didn't take long until I was put in charge of additional treasury responsibilities.

I enjoyed working as an accountant and felt content in my role for quite a while, until a massive shift happened about 25 years into my career. Andrew Eich, Covia's current President & CEO, had just started with the company and had an incredible number of ideas to revolutionize the way we worked. He helped us rethink and rework our current accounting processes and procedures to streamline and improve them. I was inspired and felt reinvigorated to help bring about the changes that Andrew proposed.

At the same time, another important change occurred as Covia formed cross-functional teams - rethinking the way we work as an organization. It was exciting to get all the team members in the same room to learn from each other and their unique functional experiences. This was especially rewarding for me because while I love accounting, I also love working with different functional areas and learning from other's perspectives. These changes inspired me to pursue new opportunities that have led me to where I am today.