Kayla Kordish
Procurement Manager
Henkel
Kayla Kordish is a Procurement Manager at Henkel specializing in raw materials, including fats, oils, and solvents. This interview, conducted as part of Women in Chemicals’ Woman of the Week series, explores Kayla’s non-linear career journey—from graduating during the COVID-19 pandemic with a finance degree, to pivoting into procurement and supply chain, leaving Henkel and returning, and ultimately finding a role that aligns with both her professional strengths and personal values. Throughout the conversation, Kayla reflects on resilience, self-advocacy, relationship-building, and the importance of embracing discomfort as a path to growth.
Entering the Workforce During COVID-19: Graduating in 2020 was a deeply uncertain time for Kayla. With no clear sense of what her future would look like, she leaned on a master’s degree in risk management and quantitative finance to secure a procurement internship—a field far removed from what many of her peers pursued. Starting her career entirely remotely, without ever having met her colleagues in person, she quickly learned to adapt. Rather than viewing the chaos as a setback, Kayla credits that experience with making her more resilient and sparking a genuine love for the fast-moving, unpredictable nature of the chemicals industry.
From Finance to Procurement - An Unexpected Pivot: Though her academic background was rooted in finance, Kayla found herself drawn to procurement for reasons that went beyond the technical. She appreciated that the field still allowed her to engage with complex, analytical topics while also satisfying her desire for human connection. Rather than working behind a spreadsheet in isolation, procurement gave her the opportunity to build meaningful relationships with both internal stakeholders and external partners—and to stay plugged into what’s happening across the industry.
Building Relationships Remotely: One of the standout themes in Kayla’s career is her intentional approach to nurturing professional relationships, even at a distance. She emphasizes the value of small, informal touchpoints with colleagues—genuine conversations that build trust over time. In her view, when people trust you as an individual and respect the quality of your work, they become more willing to collaborate and advocate for you. This philosophy has been central to her success in a largely remote environment.
Leaving Henkel, and Coming Back: Perhaps the most candid portion of the interview centers on Kayla’s decision to leave Henkel after a series of rapid career advancements and her eventual return. She left as a Project Implementation Manager, curious about whether the grass was greener elsewhere and eager to test herself in a new environment. She landed a Procurement Manager role at another CPG company focused on indirect spend, but quickly realized that the more strategic, internally-focused nature of that work didn’t energize her the way direct procurement and operational challenges did. She missed the collaboration, the external relationships, and the day-to-day complexity of her previous role. When changes at Henkel opened a door—and thanks to relationships she had maintained with former colleagues and her manager—she returned.
What a Different Company Culture Taught Her: The time away wasn’t without its rewards. Working at a smaller organization pushed Kayla out of her comfort zone in new ways: she had to rebuild her professional brand from scratch and present regularly to senior leadership, including the CPO. That experience forced her to speak up, advocate for herself, and recognize the value others saw in her. She returned to Henkel with significantly more confidence and a clearer sense of her own strengths.
Being Gen Z in Today’s Workforce: As a Gen Z professional and COVID-era graduate, Kayla speaks candidly about the unique challenges facing her generation, from limited opportunities for homeownership and advancement, to an uphill battle for recognition in the workplace. She acknowledges that younger generations behind her face their own distinct hurdles, including reduced access to in-person networking and soft skills development due to remote schooling. Her advice: advocate fiercely for yourself, embrace uncertainty, and look for opportunities even when they feel daunting, because the discomfort is often where the growth happens.
Involvement with Women in Chemicals: Kayla’s engagement with Women in Chemicals grew out of a particularly meaningful mentorship experience at a pivotal moment in her career when she was weighing whether to return to Henkel. The value she gained from that mentorship inspired her to give back, and she now serves as Sponsorship Coordinator on the WIC Leadership Team. She finds the role rewarding and sees it as an extension of the relationship-building work she does professionally. Hearing firsthand about the reach and impact WIC has had on others has made the experience especially empowering.
Advice for the Women in Chemicals Community: Kayla’s closing message to the Women in Chemicals community centers on confidence—not as something you either have or don’t, but as something that develops over time through deliberate effort. She encourages women to actively seek out what makes them uncomfortable, because leaning into those moments is what ultimately sets strong leaders apart.