I Want Your Job: G(irls)20 Interviews Ekaterina of Caterpillar Inc. in Moscow

Meet Ekaterina Lubina, Dealer Distribution Representative of Caterpillar Inc. Eurasia. We think she’s got a pretty cool job, so we asked her to tell us about it - here’s what she shared.

1. Tell us about your ambitions as a young woman. What did you want to do with your future when you were 18-20 years of age? Did you always want to work for a company like Caterpillar?

A: When I was 18-20 years old I was working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as an administrative assistant and dreaming of starting my own business, a hotel, but I’ve been always dreaming about doing something big and exciting. I joined Caterpillar by chance. While looking through The Moscow Times newspaper I noticed an advertisement saying that Caterpillar had a vacancy for a receptionist. I decided to try it and got the job. I had heard about Caterpillar before but it was only after joining Caterpillar that I learned what a huge corporation it actually is. I was impressed by the scale of business, by the people that were working at Cat and by a unique corporate culture, by the atmosphere that was very similar to a family. After 17 years with the corporation I’m still feeling as a member of the Caterpillar family.

2. How did you get to where you are? And what advice do you have for young women just starting to think about their career paths?

A: I really enjoy what I am doing at Cat. I started as an administrative assistant with the Sales Department and step by step grew to my current position of Sales Operations Representative. You know, I’ve always had a passion for learning more, for developing new skills, having a real challenge and I wanted to get to know the business. Caterpillar has a lot of growth and development opportunities for the employees. It’s probably one of the strongest sides of the company. There are a lot of development opportunities at Cat and initiative and passion for learning something new is always encouraged. In my current position as Sales Operations Representative at the Distribution office I have responsibility for Caterpillar Dealer operations on one of the Dealer territories in Russia. My job is very demanding, but also exciting. I am meeting a lot of new people, learning something new every day and I help our dealers to solve issues, to do more and to do better. My advice for the young women just starting their career paths is to follow their dreams without being afraid! Never think that something is impossible. Remember that there is always a solution for an issue, a way to find a solution, to step on to the next level if you really want it. Don’t be afraid of testing yourself! You will never know if you can succeed or not if you don’t try.

3. Why do you think a company like Caterpillar supports the G(irls)20 Summit’s goal of utilizing one of the most important resources in the world - girls and women?

A: I think G(irls)20 Summit is an important and truly empowering initiative. The company supports education and specifically women education worldwide through the Caterpillar Foundation. This support is logical when looking at the values we share at Cat: Integrity, Excellence, Commitment, Teamwork. One of the most important Cat values in terms of the corporate culture is Diversity and Inclusion. This means that all employees regardless of their gender have equal opportunities for growth and development even in the tough business environment as is the case at Caterpillar, world leader in manufacturing of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric locomotives. Women can work and develop their careers in all segments of the business. The women holding Vice Presidential positions in Product Development, Corporate Relations, Finance Services, etc, are the best illustration of this.

4. What is your vision for the future of your company?

A: I think we will see more women join the company. Caterpillar is a very interesting company that has been market leader since 1925 when the company was formed as a result of merger between two at the time small companies, Holt and Best. Nowadays we are still growing worldwide. This is the result of attracting good people and investing significant amounts on research and development, in 2012 $2.5 billion . Our engineers are working on the products and services for our customers looking into the future to meet the customer expectations and needs, because our industry is becoming more complex and demanding. I am sure Caterpillar will remain the market leader. We are helping our customers to make progress possible around the world. We are not afraid of the new challenges and we are ready to do more. I think Caterpillar will remain the best choice for our customers.