At Droste Group, we recognize that it is vitally important for you to select a coach you connect with to get the most out of your engagement. That is why we have strategically assembled a diverse team of leadership coaches. As part of a regular blog series that we call “Coaches Highlight,” we will introduce the members of our coaching team and give you some insight to help you connect with the coach who is just right for you.
Meet Alba Contreras Rodriguez
When Alba Contreras Rodriguez begins to tell you about her work history, you can’t help but be impressed. With executive experience at Ford Motor Company, General Motors, and KPMG, her resume reeks with business cred and leadership chops.
Then she reveals that on some evenings, she asks Alexa to play salsa music so she can dance with her husband. They’ve been happily married for 30 years and have two sons and a grandson who are the center of her life. And you can’t help but be intrigued.
Alba began her life’s journey in Venezuela. She came to the United States at age sixteen, not knowing any English, but with a deep-seated desire to learn. Her grandfather believed that a person who spoke two languages was worth two people. Alba spent her entire career rising through the ranks in male-dominated industries with a relentless drive and keen awareness to work harder and smarter with a human-centered approach. These traits laid the groundwork for the success that enabled her to gain United States citizenship in 2006.
Then there was her multi-cultural ethos that provided key opportunities. She operated plants for Ford in Venezuela, Brazil, and Mexico. She led global teams responsible for businesses in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. She worked in diverse functional areas including Manufacturing, Industrial Engineering, Process Reengineering, Lean Manufacturing, Information Technology, E-Business, Marketing Sales and Service, Vehicle Launches, and Human Resources.
During her time at KPMG, Alba realized how much she enjoyed consulting. She started thinking about how her work could fill the void of one-on-one development conversations and how she might help leaders develop their skills and prepare them for change initiatives. That is where her coaching journey started.
Over the years, Alba developed a reputation as a visionary leader with a clear sense of purpose and urgency when faced with diverse challenges during periods of both declining sales and rapid growth. She became a recognized expert in strategic global operations and a seasoned management executive with a proven history of building high-performance teams and leading sophisticated manufacturing and service organizations.
Alba’s ideal coaching client is eager to engage and commit to focus on their own transformation. She believes that if a person is willing to do the work, the outcome will be a direct result of their intention and attention.
Alba is an Advanced Certified Personal and Executive Coach, credentialed as Associate Certified Coach (ACC) by the International Coach Federation (ICF). She holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Computer & Information Sciences from the University of Florida; an MBA from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business; and a Technology, Operations, and Value Chain Management certificate from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is fluent in Spanish and English with conversational in Portuguese.
Alba enjoys reading and researching digital transformation, industry 4.0, technology, the economy, human resources, the future of work from sources like Harvard Business Review, Forbes, Fortune, Inc, Wall Street Journal, Automotive News, MIT Sloan School of Business, and University of Michigan Ross School of Business. She recently finished reading Dare to Lead by Brené Brown and is planning to start Meditations by Marcus Aurelius.
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If you’re interested in setting up a coaching experience with Alba or any of our other amazing coaches, email us at info@drostegroup.com. Leadership coaching is one-on-one development, focused on behavior change to improve overall performance and effectiveness. Leadership coaching is just one of the many services we provide. To learn more, visit www.drostegroup.com.
