Meet Shao Balat
In celebration of Asian American Pacific Islander month, 9Paths has chosen to showcase current AAPI leaders we have had the privilege to work alongside. 9P stands in solidarity, community, and celebration with our AAPI community. I asked our AAPI leaders to share who influenced their careers and wisdom in standing in solidarity and community with each other.
Meet Shao Balat, Global Portfolio Manager leading the Supply Chain and Site Logistics Service portfolios for Dow Service Business. She is responsible for the portfolios’ wins/losses and manages the evaluations of revenue, margin, and cost for existing service lines globally. Shao develops new service line descriptions, value propositions, and contracts for large enterprise-level Mergers, Acquisitions, and Divestiture projects and post-implementations.
Shao was selected to join Dow’s Asian Diversity Network (ADN), Champion4Change cohort. C4C is a sponsorship program designed to advance the careers of Dow Asian talent while offering candidates leadership training and exposure to senior leaders.
Shao’s demonstration of Dow’s cultural attributes: Trust, Accountability, Transparency, and Empowerment shines in her role. Shao is Enneagram Type 7 and leads her teams with enthusiasm, creates vision, encourages creativity and active sharing while neutralizing negative thoughts.
Shao believes your life’s successes are not a solo endeavor. Shao recalls her university professor, friends, colleagues, and mentors provided her the support during challenging seasons of life. However, Shao’s husband is the most significant influence, acting as a sounding board, encouraging big ideas, and encouraging the “you can do it” spirit.
Shao believes solidarity and community can be found in practicing empathy. It is empathy that sees, feels, and provides safety for people. Maya Angelou said, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”