Meet the woman of the hour, Emma Aer, a highly experienced professional recognized in customer goods and services. Currently, she spearheads as the CEO and President of Franklin Foods. She is well-established as a Strategic Business Leader and Brand Builder with a strong track record of successfully leading change and accelerating growth. She acts as a driving force in leading company turn-around and digital transformation in sales and marketing.
Following her key mantra of “Stop being afraid of what could go wrong and start being excited about what could go right”, Emma’s journey is nothing short of exceptional and beyond.
Emma’s Trailblazing Journey
Emma’s illustrious career spans 25 years of international experience in consumer goods and services. In her journey, she has made significant contributions serving various roles in leading companies like Coca-Cola, Nokia, Finlandia / Valio, Reima, and Franklin Foods / Hochland. She has lived and worked in six countries while holding P&L responsibility for business units, country units, and multi-country regions.
Her previous role was as a President at Reima North America, building the Brand operation in the USA and Canada with own Direct to Consumer sales via the online store and Amazon, as working together with retailers across the United States and Canada. Before PE owned Reima, Emma was the CEO of Finlandia Cheese, and preceded by several leadership positions at Valio, Nokia, and Coca-Cola in Europe.
Emma has completed her Master of Science in Economics and Business Administration from Aalto University, Finland with a major in International Marketing and Master of Science from Gothenburg University, Sweden with a major in Finance and Industrial Economics. Further studies at ESADE University in Spain, Spain as well Duke University executive education with boot camps in India, Switzerland, and Finland.
As a leader, Emma’s four core strengths are customer-centricity, strategic thinking, drive for results, and engaging social skills. She is backed by years of profound experience and utilizes every inch of her expertise and knowledge in nurturing talent and building high-performing teams. Under her mentorship, many teams have successfully achieved desired outcomes through clarity and openness. She is a trusted mentor, advisor, and board member, who inspires teams to realize common objectives and work in a union for the winning spot.
Emma has a dual citizen of Finland and the United States. She is a mother of three boys and has been married for 27 years. In her leisure time, she enjoys the outdoors and indulges in activities like skiing and hiking.
Joining Franklin Foods
Emma got excited about the mission to turn around the culture and business of a 120-year-old American company with a European owner. Building the team and business in the USA while creating a bridge of alignment and trust across the Atlantic in these turbulent times is a positive challenge and very rewarding.
More about Franklin Foods
Franklin Foods began producing cheese in 1899 using fresh milk and cream from nearby farms in Vermont. Franklin’s team is a close-knitted friendly team of professionals passionate about making the world’s best-tasting cream cheese, today, and for generations to come.
With 120 years of cheese-making expertise, the family-owned company is steeped in tradition while devoted to protecting the planet’s future. The highest quality products and the most sustainable practices go hand in hand. Like one generation passing to the next, Franklin Foods never stops evolving its traditions for the greater good.
Today, it produces and sells dairy and plant-based cream cheese, spreads, and dips. Its brands are Green Mountain Farms, Greek Cream Cheese, Hahns’, Simply V, and Lombardi’s. The customers include many of the largest retailers and food service companies in this country. The company also exports to Canada, South and Central America, as well as Asia. Franklin Foods is a subsidiary of the German Hochland Group, one of the largest cheese manufacturers in the world.
The Mission and Vision of Franklin Foods
The Mission: “We are in business for Good; We delight customers with great taste and do the right for people and the planet.”
The Vision: “To become the category leader with the best tasting, sustainable products, and a great place to work for our people.”
Success: A Shared Shot
Emma defines her version of success in the most beautiful way possible. She has been a team player from day one. And when asked what success means to her, she simply answers, “Winning together, as a team.”
As a distinguished leader, she allows every one of her team to learn from their mistakes and always have each other’s back. She believes that success is a shared passion and vision of coming together and rowing the boat in the same direction and supporting each other. Also, overcoming any challenges and meeting and exceeding the expectations of their customers.
Moreover, she states, “Being the best place to work for our team members, where everyone feels empowered to make decisions related to their own job and supported to develop professionally. Having the owners’ content with the state and direction of the business. And having fun and being able to laugh together often while doing this.”
Leading the Teams to the Finish Line
Emma always makes sure she understands the expectations and strives to meet and exceed those. She is a number and KPI geek and it helps her to keep track of progress. Being strong at her number game gives her an edge. She wears her analyzing glasses to foresee the market conditions at all times.
Having led several businesses across different industries, the common thread has been her ability to build winning teams and energize and inspire people to achieve exceptional business results. Emma does this through openness and clarity, trust, fairness, and respect. She is a gem of a person who always treats others well.
Emma’s Advice for Budding Entrepreneurs and Business Leaders
“Do things that you love but try to get a little better every day at things that you don’t love. You will become better at it, and you may find new love. Push yourself out of your comfort zone and dare to try something different. You will either succeed or learn. Life will carry you and show you the way.
Be generous with supporting and helping others. It will always pay back later in life in some way or form. And you feel better about yourself. We rise by lifting others.”
Paving a Path – the Next Five Years
Emma adds, “In the next five years, we have achieved our long-term business targets, and personally, I hope I have become a bit wiser and better person.”
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