Despite Leslie Taito’s preference “to fly under the radar,” her leadership positions put her in the limelight. Since joining Hope Global more than two years ago, Taito has made her mark on the 133-year-old, Cumberland-based manufacturing company with operations in China, the Czech Republic and Mexico and sales/engineering offices in Detroit and Brazil.
As Hope Global’s senior vice president of corporate operations, Taito designed, developed and launched the companywide “We Can!” campaign, which instilled in employees and customers a sense of pride and camaraderie, and affirmed the message that Hope Global should be customers’ supplier of choice, said Cheryl Merchant, president and CEO, to whom Taito reports.
With corporate operations encompassing so many diverse responsibilities, Taito describes her good days at work as where she knocks things off her to-do list. Throughout her career, her proudest moments involve people rather than products or processes, budgets or business plans. With her self-professed knack for finding talent in atypical places, Taito said, “I’ve tried hard to mentor people. I like to recognize [those with] talent. Of all the deals I’ve closed and budgets I’ve hit, it would be the people [who make me proud].”
What advice would Taito, once a young CEO at the R.I. Manufacturing Extension Services (now Polaris MEP), offer young women professionals? “Be a sponge for knowledge; be open to learning from everyone you cross paths with … stay open to constantly learning.”
Even seasoned business leaders benefit from Taito’s depth of knowledge and leadership. “She taught me to seek ‘Clear, Predictable and Reliable’ processes and ‘CPR’ became my mantra,” wrote Janet Coit, director of the R.I. Department of Environmental Management. “I don’t know anyone … more eloquent than Leslie about the need for strong laws to support the public good, while also explaining how and why good-intentioned efforts to implement the law can cause unintended or new problems.”
With 20 years or so of leadership experience in Rhode Island – beyond RIMES Taito’s career stops include the Greater Rhode Island Regional Employment and Training Board, the Rhode Island Manufacturers Association and the state’s Office of Regulatory Reform – Taito has embraced opportunities to make processes and performances better and faster.
Of past assignments, she said, “I did training and development, and we taught businesses. I never got to see the end result.” In contrast, at Hope Global, “I can start it and refine it and see it through …. you get the feeling of satisfaction [from] closing a deal, putting in a new process.”
Taito has found satisfaction in taking something that’s not been done before or vetting someone’s idea and making it real. “I gravitate to taking a process and making it better, or taking an idea that someone had and seeing if we can actually deploy it.” As the first director of the R.I. Office of Regulatory Reform, Taito completed the review of more than 1,642 state regulations in 18 months, though the assignment was slated to need four years, Merchant wrote.
With wide-ranging responsibilities at Hope Global, including government and community relations, global real estate and environmental management, mergers and acquisitions, and customer contracts and negotiations, Taito secured a $1.5 million federal flood-mitigation grant. The Hope Global location saw devastating floods in 2002 and 2010; the grant will assist retrofitting and modifying equipment in the facility to limit the impact of future flooding and keep the company in Cumberland.
She and Merchant collaborated on a strategic plan that identified areas for operational improvements and standardization. “Leslie is exceptional in her position … and is a valued adviser on all business aspects,” wrote Merchant.
Even Taito’s philanthropic engagements demonstrate her commitment to mentoring others and making processes more efficient and productive. She is a member of Rhode Island’s Lean Government Initiative’s steering committee and a lean mentor to Melba Depeña Affigne, director of the R.I. Department of Human Services. A Leadership Rhode Island alumna, she earlier chaired the Northern Rhode Island and the North Kingstown chambers of commerce, and served as a commissioner for Rhode Island’s 21st Century Workforce Commission.
Managing the company’s explosive growth – 51 percent since Taito’s arrival and an additional 30 percent projected next year – is her greatest challenge. “How can we be a 133-year-old company,” she asked, “and be good stewards? How do we grow it and leave it better than when we got here?” •
