Our next employee spotlight features Heather Scanlon, Vice President of Finance. In January 2023, it will be 30 years for Heather at MK Battery. “I had pressed ‘pause’ on my CPA/Accounting/Finance career to be a full-time mother to my sons, but 7 years later, it seemed like providential timing when they started school, and my friend Mark Wels called one day and said, ‘this company that Mark Kettler and I started needs a part-time Controller. Is that something you’d be interested in?’ It was perfect! And although I didn’t know it at the time, it was exactly what I needed – not only then, but all throughout the next 30 years, as MK gave me opportunity after opportunity to grow along with the company. I got to help with expansion in multiple countries, got to travel to those countries and more, and got strong support when I went back for my MBA degree.”
Heather’s favorite part of her job consists of figuring out how to handle unusual situations - finding the right people who might have the right information to help find a way forward in the new challenge. Along with that comes her normal day to day, which usually starts with fielding calls and e-mails from points East (the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Eastern U.S., Australia), moving through time zones to issues coming up in California. Many times, those questions and issues can fill her day, but in between, she spends time now mentoring those coming up the ranks behind her.
In her free time, Heather enjoys “traveling with friends and siblings, and any chance I can get to be with my 2 sons, daughters-in-law and their families (8 grandkids). None of them live nearby, so visits always involve travel.” Next up on her list for international travel is Spain. She’d like to improve on her rudimentary Spanish skills, but there is so much of the U.S. she still needs to see – Mount Rushmore is high on that list.
Heather wants people to know what a great, reliable company MK Battery is, not only to their customers and up-line partners, but especially to their employees. “I am coming to a bittersweet time in my career; I am SO grateful for MK Battery and all the amazing people it has brought into my life over the years, and yet also looking ahead to retirement and stepping aside so that the next generation can have their own experience and make MK Battery even better.” We couldn’t begin to describe how vital Heather is at MK Battery and all that she has accomplished. We are so lucky to have you on the team and absorb the knowledge you have to pass down.
