Bama CEO Paula Marshall was profiled in the Women to Watch feature in the Tulsa World Magazine. This feature shines a light on women who are leaders and entrepreneurs in the Tulsa business community, including CEOs, CFOs, COOs, and executive directors, just to name a few.
Paula comes from a long line of women making strides in business. Her grandmother, Alabama Marshall (from whom Bama takes its name), came up with the pie recipes that started the entire business and was instrumental in Bama’s early product development.
“My grandmother was in the plant operations, recipes, producing product, and getting product out the door,” Paula says. “My grandfather was more sales-oriented. That’s how they put company together with their skill sets.”
Paula’s mother, Lilah Marshall, also brought her business savvy and financial direction to take Bama from a regional favorite to national success.
“Mom was the person behind my dad that no one ever saw,” Paula says of her mother. “She was the financial backbone of Bama…She was brilliant. She was my mentor, teacher, financial rock. I was lucky to learn a lot from her.”
Following in her mother’s footsteps, Paula is also a mentor for other women in business. “I always advise my women mentees to write their very own personal mission statement so that they know absolutely without a doubt that being in business is what they really want,” she told the Tulsa World. “If they don’t ‘know themselves,’ they will always have guilt no matter what their choice is.”
Read the full Q&A with Paula on the Tulsa World site right here.
Thank you to the Tulsa World for this wonderful profile of a woman who’s an inspiration to all of us here at Bama, and has been for more than 30 years.