Here they are! L&P’s Emerging Leader Academy – Class of 2019, 2020, and 2021!
(Of course we ran with the silly photo. Anything with a front-and-center leprechaun jump is a winner in our books.)
We are so proud to host and learn alongside such a dedicated and diverse group of participants. Last week was a truly wonderful week!
Here they are! L&P’s Emerging Leader Academy – Class of 2019 and Class of 2020!
We are so proud to host and learn alongside such a dedicated and diverse group of participants. It’s been a truly wonderful week!
2025 is your year to conquer your career, and L&P’s very own Christalena Peña, Learning & Development Specialist, is sharing her free resource to help you!
Christalena is the author of Conquer Your Career – a free weekly LinkedIn newsletter that you can use as a go-to guide for taking control of your professional journey.
“This newsletter is my way of making career growth accessible, actionable, and inspiring, so you can tackle your goals with confidence,” says Christalena. “Empowering others to succeed isn’t just a passion—it’s my purpose, and I’m excited to share this journey with you!”
Through personal stories, actionable tips, and practical strategies, Conquer Your Career helps you discover how to step up, stand out, and achieve your goals. No fluff—just real, tactical advice to help you navigate challenges and seize opportunities with confidence. Join a community of driven professionals, and don’t forget to follow, subscribe, and share with friends ready to conquer their careers too!
Newsletter link: Conquer Your Career
5 articles to get you started:
Christalena was once told that she transcends barriers in everything that she does. Since then, she’s worked to leverage every experience to build on the next, shift paradigms, and promote accessibility. Her work experience spans revenue, operations, employee resource groups, DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion), learning & development, instructional design, social media, individual contributors, emerging leaders, people leaders, and more.
“I started Conquer Your Career because I believe in the power of sharing knowledge to uplift others. My creative energy comes alive when I can take what I’ve learned—through challenges, wins, and everything in between—and turn it into something that helps others break barriers and unlock their potential,” says Christalena.
“Overall, it’s been such a fun and insightful experience for both the subscribers and me. With each article, I am further refining my voice as a writer and thought leader. We have started to form such an uplifting and curious community on LinkedIn, which I appreciate.“
We’re proud of Christalena’s leadership, and we’re grateful she’s helping make career growth accessible to everyone!
Happy (almost) New Year from Leggett & Platt! As we head into 2020, we thought we’d recap 2019 with a few of our favorite posts.
We learned that our founders were awesome leaders — and two pretty interesting dudes.
We learned that we’re always searching for ways to improve – ourselves, our processes, our methods, our company.
This week, our Corporate Headquarters welcomed an amazing group of people to the third annual Emerging Leader Academy (ELA) conference! Over 100 L&P employees joined us from across the globe to network, learn from senior leaders, and study concepts of change management. What a week it’s been!
Doug Thrasher (Plant Manager, Carthage Wire Mill) shares his thoughts on change management during the roundtable networking event.
Mitch Dolloff (COO) and Steve Henderson (President-Automotive Group) spoke openly about their vision for the future of L&P during the closing keynote.
Participants had many opportunities to network and build their relationships — some even enjoyed a quick game of horseshoes during lunch.
ELA participants Nathan Herndon, Chris Whitesell, and Vinny Dimino.
Ben Cuthbert (European Sales & Marketing Director) was peer selected to serve as Valedictorian of the 2019 graduating class.
This week, we hosted over 100 of our emerging leaders from all over the world to network, learn from senior leaders, and study concepts of change management – all as part of our annual conference for the Emerging Leader Academy.
And what a week it was.
We’re still over here recovering, so check back soon for more pictures!
Throughout May, we’re highlighting people, places, and products within our Specialized Products segment. Today we’re putting the spotlight on a unique program sponsored by L&P Schukra-Lakeshore in Ontario, Canada – a UWindsor Engineering team formula car build!
Car rendering
Working hands-on with vision systems, electrical lines, and robots is a dream opportunity for any engineering student. That dream became a reality for P.J. Kriemadis. He gained valuable experience last semester, when he accepted a Co-op position in the manufacturing engineering department at L&P Lakeshore.
Because of his love for all things automotive, P.J. is also on a team at the University of Windsor, which is building a Formula Electric racecar. The group of mechanical and electrical engineering students all have a passion for racing. They look forward to competing with other universities from around the world at an upcoming Formula North competition in Toronto. However, they’re also enjoying the actual process of the build and are learning more about electrical and automotive technologies of the future.
When P.J.’s coworkers at Lakeshore learned about the project, they decided to get involved by becoming a sponsor. “This project is a perfect opportunity for us,” says Ian Agnolin, HR Generalist. “It allows us to interact directly with students who are interested in emerging electrical and automotive technologies. They will be looking for careers soon and already understand the transformations that are occurring in the industry.”
(L to R): Lynn Caixeiro, HR Manager; Ian Agnolin, HR Generalist; P.J. Kriemadis, Student & Team Member; Beth Rocheleau, Manufacturing Engineering Manager. Not Pictured: Angela Durand, Marketing Communications & Social Media Manager
Lakeshore’s sponsorship allowed for the purchase of a Quaife style differential. This specific type offers both superior performance and high durability, which will allow the part to be used by Formula Electric team students at UWindsor for many years to come.
Here’s a peek at our morning offsite! Alissa Owsley, Director of L&D, interviewed Mitch Dolloff, COO, to share his thoughts on leading strong teams as part of our Emerging Leader Academy.
Why the football stadium, you ask? Well, we totally ran with the “strong teams” theme!
Big thanks to our Marketing + Creative videography crew for always executing on our crazy ideas.
Happy (almost) New Year from Leggett & Platt! As we head into 2019, we thought we’d recap 2018 with a few of our favorite posts.
We learned that we’re always improving – ourselves, our processes, our methods, our company.
We learned that career planning is as easy as searching for that next 1-Up mushroom. (Why do I have the Super Mario Bros. song stuck in my head?)
The Emerging Leader Academy (ELA) annual conference is in full swing at our Corporate Headquarters! We’re hosting nearly 100 L&P employees from across the globe to network, learn from senior leaders, and improve business acumen. What a week it’s already been!
CFO Matt Flanigan networks with ELA participants Andy Cline and Travis Sageser.
Sonia Smith, President of European Automotive, and Joe Espinoza, President of Asian Automotive, check in at the start of the conference.
ELA participants Andy Cline and Jennifer Little.
Mitch Dolloff, President of Specialized Products and Furniture Products, opened day two by sharing his vision for the future L&P.
A small warm-up activity for day two.
Our L&D Program Managers, Rob Sotlar and Stephanie Elliott.
