Event details
Join us for an empowering webinar with a diverse group of leaders at Cargill on self-advocacy and allyship in the workplace, designed to help you unlock your voice and support others in doing the same. This virtual talk will explore practical strategies for effectively communicating your needs, asking for help, building confidence, and navigating inevitable challenges in the workplace. We'll also dive into the importance of being an active ally, providing expert-backed tips for challenging bias and fostering equity. Whether you're looking to grow in your own career or lift others up alongside you, this session will offer valuable insights and tools to:
Effectively foster an inclusive environment for others.
Build confidence in advocating for yourself and your career aspirations.
Challenge biases in the workplace.
Be an active and supportive ally.
This event will be recorded and posted here following the event. We'll also email the recording directly to everyone who registers. By registering, you agree to share your email and profile information with the participating company.
Want to attend but can’t make the webinar date work? No problem! Register anyway and we’ll send you the recording for you to watch on your own time.
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Meet the speakers
Ashley Costello
Finance Senior Analyst, Cargill
As an experienced finance professional with over six and a half years of experience at Cargill, Ashley has honed expertise in financial planning and analysis, strategic business decision-making, and leadership. Currently, Ashley serves as the North America Business Finance Lead for the Livestock and Aqua Nutrition Businesses within Cargill Animal Nutrition, overseeing all financial aspects of the business and acting as CFO on four species leadership teams. Ashley's role involves leading plant asset modeling, making strategic investment decisions, and spearheading initiatives to increase profitability performance. Beyond professional work, Ashley is passionate about leadership and volunteer work. Ashley has led global programs for the Cargill Young Professional Network and the Cargill Women's Network - Finance Division, and co-founded the Thomas A Costello Legacy Foundation, a 501c3 nonprofit organization. Ashley also volunteers as a Wish Granter for the Make-a-Wish Foundation of Minnesota. Ashley holds a bachelor’s degree in Finance and Management from The University of Wisconsin, Madison and is currently pursuing an MBA from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Carlson School of Management.
Kelly Olin
Senior Vice President, DT&D - Enterprise Resource Planning, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Digital Technology, Cargill
Kelly is Vice President, Digital Technology at Cargill. In this role she is responsible for Cargill’s global ERP transformation inclusive of new deployments, legacy operations, and sustain and optimize activities. Kelly assumed this role in May 2024 after leading Digital Technology for the Cargill Protein & Salt business as well as the Global Delivery function. Kelly joined Cargill in January 2023. Previously, Kelly held multiple roles across strategy, analytics, technology, and digital at General Mills, Target, Nike, and Best Buy. She has extensive experience driving digital and data transformations across scaled businesses. She has a passion for strategy, creative problem solving, and the magical intersection of business and technology. In her spare time, she can mostly be found around a kids’ sports event, golfing, running, or cooking. Kelly holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Michigan as well as an MBA from the University of Minnesota.
Malu (Maria) Peri
Manager Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Cargill
Maria (or just Malu, from the combination of her 2 first names: Maria and Luiza) joined the DEI COE team in 2023, to lead the DEI global strategy for the Cargill Protein and Salt (CPS) Enterprise and Cargill’s Business Operations and Supply Chain (BOSC) Function, while supporting DEI for North America. With an extensive background as a Business Human Resources Leader, she brings extensive business, plant, and stakeholders management knowledge to the team, as well as the ability to approach issues from a systems perspective. Prior to her role on the DEI team, as Business HR Leader, Maria led the Human Resources strategy for businesses like: Cocoa & Chocolate both in North America and Brazil, Starches, Sweeteners & Texturizers and the Agriculture Supply Chain. Maria was born and raised in a coastal city in Brazil, and moved to the cold Minnesota in 2021, with her husband and her 2 kids. Besides working and driving the kids to sports and music activities, she also enjoys road bicycling, swimming, theatre, cinema and reading about history. A fun fact: Maria is the 3rd generation of both Italians and Spaniards in Brazil, and she met and had the pleasure to have many conversations with her great grandfather that went to Brazil from Spain!
Gabe Afolayan
VP of Soybean Merchandising & Trading, Cargill
Gabe Afolayan serves as the VP of Soybean Merchandising & Trading for Cargill Ag & Trading North America. Gabe joined Cargill in 2007, beginning a trading and risk management career journey through various Cargill businesses spanning the ag, softs and energy market segments. His leadership role in the oilseed processing industry sits at the nexus of agriculture and energy markets as climate decarbonization objectives have become an underpinning of regulatory policy in various regional markets. Gabe is a member of Cargill’s Ebony Council and serves on the Cargill Women’s Network NA board to promote allyship and support of Cargill’s inclusion goals. Beyond Cargill, he is the Treasurer and Board Member of the Shine a Ligh7 Foundation- a Minnesota non-profit focused on supporting youth mental health awareness and advocacy. Gabe holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from Minnesota State University, Mankato, and an MBA from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. Gabe resides in the western suburbs of Minneapolis with his wife, Kali, and three children: Sonya, Dominique, and Thaddeus. In his spare time, his hobbies include travel with his family, DJ’ing, and enjoying sports.