Kindra Wray (Guest Host): Story Behind the Podcast
Episode Overview:
Kindra Wray is back as guest host! She interviews Rachel about the story behind the podcast and how/why it came to be.
Listen in if you have a dream you are hesitant to start working on. It’s worth making it happen, even if it takes 5 years. Spoiler alert - that’s how long it took Rachel to bring her idea to life.
Kindra’s Bio:
Born and raised in Racine, Kindra now resides in Minneapolis, MN. Kindra graduated from St. Catherine’s High School in 1998 and went on to earn a Bachelor of Business Administration from University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2003, majoring in Marketing and Management Human Resources. In August 2021, Kindra earned a Diversity and Inclusion certification for HR Professionals from Cornell University.
Kindra started her career with General Mills in 2003 as a Business Management Associate in the North America Retail Sales division. She was promoted a year later into a Business Category Associate role, where she had category management responsibilities for the Target account. In 2006, she was promoted to a Business Category Manager, where she supported the Cereal and Snacks business for all major accounts.
After 4 years in Sales, Kindra transitioned into Sales Human Resources in 2007 as Recruiting Training Development Manager. She spent three years in Sales Learning and Development. During that time, Kindra had responsibility for developing the training curriculum for all new Sales employees as well as onboarding them once they started. Kindra also supported the Sales team in Mumbai, India where she had the opportunity to travel on business for two weeks.
In 2013, Kindra returned to Sales Recruiting. She was promoted in 2015 to Sales Recruiting Manager. Her recruiting responsibilities included both campus and experienced hiring. In this role, Kindra supported the Sales Leadership team and was responsible for staffing all experienced hire needs nationally. She recruited at several universities over the years and hired hundreds of students to come work for General Mills, many of which have been promoted into leadership roles in the organization. In March 2017 moved to a new Recruiting Manager supporting the Supply Chain function, where she lead campus recruiting for Logistics, Operations/Engineering, and Sourcing.
In June 2019, Kindra was promoted to her current role as Talent Solutions Consultant supporting Supply Chain. In this role, Kindra manages all of the internal staffing needs for an organization with over 1,000 salaried employees across the United States. She is a talent subject matter expert, who coaches managers and senior leaders to access and select talent needed for their teams now and in the future.
During her time at General Mills, she has played a leadership in the Black Champions Network (and employee resource group) and is currently serving as Vice President of the Human Resource Diversity and Inclusion Council. Kindra has received numerous awards from the organization and most recently including an award from the Black Champions Network for Acting Boldly and Moving Quickly. She has mentored and coached many young professionals in the Sales and Human Resources functions. Kindra has also served the Board of Directors for Cornerstone Advocacy Services, where she has volunteered her time and resources over the years.
In her free time, Kindra enjoys traveling, reading, working out, and spending time with family and friends.