Danielle Larson
33
Marketing Manager for Engineering Services and Systems; Eaton
Danielle Larson joined Eaton in 2009 graduating summa cum laude from the University of Dayton with a degree in Industrial Engineering Technology.
She was introduced to the company at a campus career fair and was immediately impressed by the organization and company representatives.
“Eaton felt like the right place for me to begin building my career, especially once I got to know the people and saw the opportunities that were available to pursue,” Danielle explained.
She began in Eaton’s Operations for Engineers Leadership Development Program and her first impressions of the company were confirmed.
“I was most impressed by the people I worked with who were very welcoming to a new person just starting out in the industry. I felt challenged in my assignments and had a sense of community which made me excited to come to work every day,” Danielle said.
The Leadership Development Program, an intensive 24-month leadership track with three rotational assignments, provided Danielle with an opportunity to take on different operational roles within the company and gain valuable leadership experience early in her career.
“You were dropped into various roles and really given an opportunity to shine. But you only had eight months in each rotation,” she explained. “You had to quickly come up to speed and make an impact before moving on to your next assignment. It was aggressive, fast-paced and fun. Although it was very challenging at times, I really enjoyed it and am grateful for the opportunity and the learning.”
Over the past 10 years, Danielle has taken on roles of increasing responsibilities in operations, marketing, and sales. Her current title is marketing manager for Eaton’s electrical engineering services and systems division.
“In this newly created role, I am leading the division’s marketing team through the development of marketing and positioning strategies, creating demand and building Eaton’s brand across multiple customer segments,” she said.
In her Eaton-related travels, Danielle has been pleased to see more women throughout the electrical industry.
“It is exciting to see more women joining the electrical industry,” she said. “I am encouraged every year when assisting with recruiting efforts as I see more and more women interested in building their careers in technical industries.”
Outside of work, Danielle keeps busy by spending time with family and friends.
“I am a big foodie and an avid participant in cultural and sporting events around Pittsburgh,” Danielle explained.
Danielle is especially pleased that her work at Eaton has helped the city of Pittsburgh.
“I take a lot of pride in the fact that I was helping to restore and rebuild the city of Pittsburgh, which is the city I grew up in, while I was in my outside construction sales engineer role,” she explained. “It gave me a lot of hometown pride to know that the construction projects I was working on were directly benefiting my community.”
“While representing Eaton, I am also involved in a nine-month leadership development program with Leadership Pittsburgh. In collaboration with other young professionals from for-profit and non-profit organizations, we are planning a large-scale community impact project that will benefit the children of an underserved community in the area.”
Q. What advice do you have for other young professionals in the electrical industry?
A. My advice to them is to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. This really speaks to challenging yourself to take on new career opportunities or set stretch-objectives within your assignments. Don’t be afraid of jumping into roles in different functional areas. If you started in operations, it doesn’t mean you have to stay in operations for your entire career. I jumped between sales, marketing and operations to build my career and this has helped me develop fresh eyes in every new role I take on.
And if you’re not slightly uncomfortable in your role, then you’re probably not growing as a person. I encourage young professionals to really focus on their personal development and growth and not to shy away from taking on large challenges.
Q. Why do you consider community involvement to be such an important part of a company’s mission?
A. It’s so important because people are at the heart of everything that you do, whether you’re working to service a customer, working within your own team to drive a project or you’re working to support your family. Everything comes down to people and that’s what matters at the end of the day.
Being focused and being strong at work is great. Being successful and driving profitable growth for your company is fantastic. But you also need to take a moment and make sure you’re giving back to the community in which you work and live, and that you are helping those around you—not only for them but for yourself.
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