Jeannet Valencia thrives on new challenges. When her employer, Medtronic, offered her a new role as senior accounts payable operations manager, she seized the opportunity despite spending the bulk of her career in purchasing and planning. “I like any work that forces me to go beyond what I’m capable of doing—anything that pushes me beyond my comfort zone,” she says. “I was raised to have a can-do attitude.”
A native of Ensenada, Mexico, Valencia has always been interested in other cultures. She was a high school exchange student in Oregon and wanted the opportunity to live abroad again. After graduating from college with an information technology degree, Valencia held positions of increasing responsibility at the Mexican offices of Laurel International and Kodak.
In 1999, Valencia took a job in purchasing with Medtronic Mexico and asked immediately about opportunities to work at one of the company’s other offices. When a position opened up in Minnesota nearly five years ago, Valencia applied and became the first Mexican to land a job in corporate management.
Today, Valencia heads a team of more than 30 people. She strives to be a fair boss who shows her staff the respect she wants to earn from them. She believes she gets good results from her employees by setting high expectations and trusting them to perform to her standards.
Valencia values the opportunities Medtronic has provided her, and she is deeply engaged in her job because she wholeheartedly supports the company’s mission. “I always like to feel like I do something for somebody and I get that from Medtronic,” she says. “At the end of the day, you help someone get healthy and feel better. That motivates me.”
Valencia also gives back by volunteering at Feed My Starving Children, her church, and for drives that support food pantries and schools. She spends much of her free time with her husband and young son.
