 |
Career change evolves into mission at Boston nonprofit
By Martha E. Mangelsdorf, Globe Correspondent, 5/29/05
Each month "Transitions" profiles an individual who has made significant changes in his or her work life and highlights the techniques used to make the changes.
Carol Tienken, 48
Career transition:
Going from the for-profit to the not-for-profit sector.
What she used to do:
Tienken worked in a variety of marketing positions for Polaroid Corp.
What she does now:
Chief operating officer of The Greater Boston Food Bank, a Boston nonprofit that distributes food to hunger relief agencies, such as food pantries, in
Eastern Massachusetts.
Making the switch:
In 1998, Tienken was at a career crossroads. She left Polaroid after 18 years, and was trying to figure out her next career move.
Tienken began working at Polaroid in her early twenties. Not long after getting a graduate degree in journalism from Northwestern University, she came to Boston to take a half-time market research job at Polaroid. She became full time and moved up and into new roles. "I had terrific mentors," she said. Tienken worked in market research until about 1987, then in sales forecasting, and later in business-to-business marketing. Around 1994, she moved into new business development in global markets. Tienken, who developed markets for Polaroid products in Mexico and Latin America, loved that assignment. "That was fabulous," she said. Emerging markets in Mexico and Latin America were "almost virgin territory" for Polaroid products at the time, she said. Working with a team also allowed her to work on a range of issues like supply chain management.
But Tienken said that in January 1998, Polaroid decided to withdraw its marketing support for the emerging Latin American markets. She said her boss told her she could stay with the company and be reassigned or take a severance package. And if she took the severance package, she would be asked to close down the operations she helped build.
By that time, Tienken said, she was just over 40 and lost confidence in Polaroid's future. "By January of 1998, at least to me, it was very, very clear that the company was in serious trouble," she said. She decided to take the severance package. Polaroid filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2001 and was acquired by Petters Group Worldwide in April 2005.
Tienken said she left Polaroid at the beginning of November 1998. While she had a good financial cushion, "I was freaked by the prospect of not having a job," she said. Tienken wasn't sure exactly what kind of work she wanted to do next. So, as she prepared to leave Polaroid, she began doing informational interviews, talking to various people about the kind of work they do. By the time she began working at The Greater Boston Food Bank, she said she conducted about 50 informational interviews. "I talked to some amazing people," she said.
While at Polaroid, Tienken was an employee representative of the firm's philanthropic foundation. It sparked her interest in the nonprofit world, and she began wondering if there was a role for her there. As part of her work for Polaroid's foundation, Tienken visited various nonprofits around Boston, including The Greater Boston Food Bank. In late 1998, Tienken arranged an interview with Catherine D'Amato, the food bank's president and chief executive, to talk about the nonprofit landscape in Boston.
The organization had an opening for a chief operating officer. Tienken applied, and after months of interviews, was offered the job in early April 1999. Ralph Roberto worked with Tienken at Polaroid, where he was a vice president for customer marketing in North America. He is now president of Keystone Partners, a Boston outplacement and career consulting firm, and managing partner of Essex Partners, its division for executives. "Carol is somebody that's very mission-driven," said Roberto.
"She really resonated with the food bank. The mission of it drove her."
Tienken characterized D'Amato as "an awesome mentor." Tienken said she's worked on projects such as overseeing the installation of a new information system, installing a new security system in the warehouse, and implementing D'Amato's vision of creating a "food acquisition group" to approach potential food donors.
When she left Polaroid, Tienken estimated that she made about $110,000 as a base salary, plus a bonus of $15,000 to $20,000 in good years. She said she took a pay cut to $85,000 annually when she joined the food bank. Now, six years later, she makes more than $110,000.
She said the food bank has gone from distributing approximately 14 million pounds of food with 45 employees in 1999 to distributing about 24 million pounds in 2004, with about 65 employees. Tienken said her job generally involves longer hours than her work at Polaroid. But, she said, she enjoys her work, her colleagues, and the organization's mission. "I love my job," she said.
|
 |
North of Boston Career Fair
E-Mail This Article
View Archive Articles
