The Delightful Sound of Shattering Glass

Paige O’Dell was recently named a vice president of operations for AmeriGas. O’Dell has been in the propane industry for more than 26 years, and notes that there were not very many women in high-level roles several decades ago. However, she has always felt that within AmeriGas, leadership focuses on being fair and bases job decisions on work experience, not gender.

“Within the last 10 years, we have really seen a shift in the number of women in leadership positions. It’s rewarding to have more diversity, and differing viewpoints brought to the table. It only makes our industry stronger and more versatile,” notes O’Dell.

She has experienced many areas of the industry over the last quarter century, which has prepared her well for the shoes she has stepped into. She started in 1989 with Sharp Energy in Virginia knowing very little about the propane industry—or propane for that matter. She joined AmeriGas in 1995 as a customer relations representative. Over the years she has been involved in operations, national accounts, and most recently, served as director of the strategic initiatives group for two years.

In her new role as one of the one of the company’s four operations vice presidents (OVPs), she oversees financial performance, safety, growth, retention, and customer service for all of the districts in the 12-state Central region. O’Dell is quick to note that all of this is accomplished with the help of 13 outstanding area directors, district managers, and functional leads for each department, such as safety, pricing, and finance.

“I will be laser focused on safety as the new OVP. We want to ensure everyone goes home safe at night. As part of that continued focus, I will participate in safety meetings during visits to the districts to ensure that everyone understands and is following our processes and policies. We are also focused on growth and retention. This involves meetings with each area director and district manager to discuss their growth and retention plans, community involvement activities, and customer service levels. And we will drive to improve our distribution performance within the region. We want to ensure we are arriving at just the right time for a delivery, not too soon, not too late. If we can do these things well, the financial portion of my job will take care of itself,” says O’Dell.

What’s her goal for 2017? “To make our region No. 1 within the company, of course!” she laughs. “It’s no easy task, but I’m up for the challenge. With 2016 being the warmest year on record in 122 years, it was a tough year. Fiscal 2017 started the same way with warm temps late in the season. Thankfully we have recently been blessed with very cold weather and are really busy delivering gas,” O’Dell says. “We take care of our team and we take care of the customer. If we continue to focus on these critical components, we are destined to be successful.”

While being a female vice president for a large company in a male-dominated industry is somewhat novel, she won’t take credit for breaking any glass ceilings herself.

“Colleen Kaledas was our glass ceiling breaker within AmeriGas. She was the first female OVP and was admired throughout the company and industry. She is now happily retired. Currently we have Kathy Prigmore, as the VP of operations support and customer advocacy; Laurie Bergman as our controller and chief accounting officer; and Michelle Bimson, who serves as our chief legal counsel. I am in great company and I have fantastic trailblazers to learn from.”

Recently, nearly all of O’Dell’s time has been spent in the field with area directors and district managers to learn about their geography, opportunities, and challenges. What’s the favorite part of her day? “Totally the people!” she enthuses. “I believe we have the highest caliber of people working with us. They are dedicated, hard-working, focused, and I am so appreciative to be associated with them.”

O’Dell lives in Minford, Ohio, a small town as far south as you can be in Ohio. “I am married. My handsome husband Larry and I have a combined family of four children. Larry owns a high-volume machine shop in our area and finishes parts for automobile manufacturers. Three of our four children are married and we have three beautiful grandchildren with another on the way—due this coming June. We have three dogs that we treat like people and they bring us much joy. I enjoy reading, working in my flower gardens when it’s warm, and anything related to the beach.”

Asked about her new role and what makes her proudest, she is quick to reply, “While I am honored to be in my new role, I am most proud, above all, of our kids. They are all kind, thoughtful, caring, respectful adults. A parent couldn’t ask for much more.”

—Rita Pecilunas