​​‘I Love My Job’: ‘Building a Place Where Our Associates Can Flourish’ as a President & ERG Sponsor

Welcome to I Love My Job, the series where we hear from women who really love their jobs. In this edition, we sat down with Carla Esteva, the Area President responsible for Wisconsin, Illinois, and Northwest Indiana at US Foods.

In her nine years at the company, Esteva has been able to grow in a variety of areas. There are “a lot of programs to help our associates advance their careers,” Esteva explains. And, importantly, there’s also a plethora of “leaders who look for the potential in people with a focus on developing a more diverse perspective and bringing more diverse voices to the table,” she continues. “I have a leader who saw in me the potential to go beyond being a strategy person or a project leader — and they did something about it! They gave me opportunities to work on different projects and jobs to really help me round out my experiences.”

Through this opportunity, Esteva not only learned about her company and customers — she also discovered what kind of work she wanted to do and the kind of leader she aspired to be.

Today, in her current role, Esteva is paying this opportunity forward by being the supportive and empowering leader she once aspired to become. “This is my favorite job so far because I get to focus on building leaders and developing our associates,” she tells us. “I work on building the best leadership team, improving our teamwork and how we work across functions, as well as building a place where our associates can flourish.”

In the video below, Esteva tells us more about why she loves working at US Foods. We also provide lightly edited highlights from the video discussion in the following article.

How would you describe the culture at US Foods?

One of my favorite cultural beliefs is “talk straight”. This goes beyond giving feedback to pushing to ask for feedback. Our leaders really demonstrate this by having very open conversations, and it is something that you will see at every level of leadership. And, through that dialogue, we all learn about each other and we help build each other up. 

What is your favorite thing about working at US Foods?

One of my favorite things about US Foods is our employee resource groups (ERGs). We have nine ERGs, which are voluntary employee-led groups that focus on personal and professional development and advancing our commitment to a diverse and inclusive workplace. I personally co-sponsor our Hispanic and Latino ERG, and I'm actively involved in several that I am passionate about.

I also participated in several other ERGs because I want to learn about other communities to help me become a more inclusive leader. It's just such a fun way to get to meet other associates at US Foods.

What advice do you have for other women looking to work at US Foods?

If you're looking to work at US Foods, I'll give you two pieces of advice.

1. First look at our company page on Fairygodboss and read the profiles and articles there. It is like grabbing a cup of coffee with a bunch of women at US Foods, and you'll get a great feel about our culture and the kind of women leaders we have.

2. Second, be curious about the industry. This is such a fun industry to work in because, at the end of the day, we are all consumers when we go out to eat at restaurants, but it takes a lot of different jobs and people to make this magic happen. So, think about how you can help us accomplish that. 

Fairygodboss is proud to work with US Foods. Find a job there today!

Check out other posts in the ‘I Love My Job’ series:

• ‘I Love My Job’: Career Growth Support, Collaboration, and More — ‘This Is the Place You Want To Be'

• ‘I Love My Job’: I Get to Create Positive ‘Tangible Results’ in ‘One of the Most Diverse Workplaces'

• ‘I Love My Job’: ‘Unquestionable’ Care, Flexibility, and Getting to Be Myself as a Mom and VP

• ‘I Love My Job’: I Can Grow and ‘Make a Difference Every Day’ in a Safe and Caring Environment

• ‘I Love My Job’: I’m Proud to Be Part of a Team That’s Building Technology to Change the World