Barbara Laible Named President Of RD Industries
Barbara’s career has spanned over multiple industries including manufacturing, printing, advertising, production management, education, transportation of freight, IT, and real estate development. As a previous entrepreneur, Barbara grew a refrigerated freight company from startup to nearly $4 million annually whose clients included companies from the Fortune 100 list. She has provided leadership and consulting to start over 40 entities in Nebraska’s state and taught business coursework for Grace University in Omaha, Nebraska.
Barbara holds an MBA from Regent University in Entrepreneurism and Global Leadership and is currently a Ph.D. student in Organizational Leadership. Also, she accomplished additional education at Northwestern | Kellogg and Cornell University. One of Barbara’s most significant interests is learning.
Barbara’s involvement with RD Industries began in 2014. In January of 2019, she was hired as Chief Strategy Officer and promoted to Chief Operating Officer in 2020. Under Barbara’s leadership, we have transformed the RDI internal culture simultaneously while improving the customer experience and product offering. At the height of the COVID-19 supply demands, the RDI team met every order, pushing the facility capacity limits to outstanding, never-before achieved production and quality levels. The business ended the year producing 70% more than any previous year, proving leadership combined with teamwork makes all the difference.
“Over the last year, each day came with new COVID-19 production surges. So, we approached each day with a strategic round table to identify crucial decisions and tasks. This constant communication kept production rolling and helped us learn more about our ability. We implemented buying strategies, built more automation, and increased wages to ensure we maintained production. We utilize temperature stations, regular plant sanitization, and around-the-clock cleaning. We believe in what our customers are working to achieve. We care about the world and understand our responsibility to do our part for closed-loop in liquid containment and dispensing while keeping our employees and customers top-of-mind. Also, we continue to innovate new products which we will launch this year. Our focus is caring about and protecting people and the planet,” says Laible.
Barbara believes in the importance of the full-picture and has not been shy about stepping in and learning at every life opportunity, which provides her with the unique ability to advise in multiple areas and industries. Barbara believes in developing an excellent leadership team, utilizing all perspectives in decision-making, and taking risks. “There is a higher moral aspect that I utilize as a guideline to take a good decision to a great one. You must always own your mistakes, and sometimes you fail. It’s painful, but necessary for progress.”
We look forward to a great future at RD Industries. Congratulations, Barbara!
