HOLLAND, L.P., REGIONAL SALES MANAGER
Taryn Peterson is nearing her seventh year working for Holland in Crete, Illinois, a relatively small town located approximately 40 miles from downtown Chicago. As the regional sales manager, Taryn manages, builds and maintains relationships with all non-Class 1 rail account customers in the Maintenance of Way division; this Midwest territory consists of 12 states and a large number of unique customers with different needs.
When asked how Taryn got her start in the rail industry she stated a familiar experience. “Originally, I was not necessarily interested in the rail industry but more so with the company. I live in a small town outside of headquarters and everyone knows Holland. Employees wear a lot of Holland gear and wherever you go you will see company attire. Previously, I was in the medical field, so I knew working in some capacity with customers would be my strong suit. I saw a position open in the accounting department and applied.”
Over the next few years Taryn excelled in the billing department working with customers, learning accounting processes, understanding terminology and production reports and eventually transitioned into a customer service position in Holland’s mechanical division.
"I listened and had conversations with other sales managers, operation teams, and most importantly customers. I invested time in continuous improvement and created multiple tools for Lean processes. I loved where I was at and knew that I wanted to continue to grow and prepare myself for the next step. May of 2021, I was officially promoted to Regional Sales Manager where I continue to build relationships and successes within my territory."
Director of Contracts and Compliance at Holland, L.P., and Board of Directors Membership Chair for the League of Railway Women, Anne Schlegel stated, “When the LRW Board was discussing our next LRW Member Spotlight, Taryn was the first person that came to mind. I have had the pleasure of working with Taryn closely over the last year. I look up to her as a professional, and also as a woman who is unapologetically herself, driven, kind, and eager to learn and excel. She takes on changing roles with grace and humility, and also is an exceptional woman in rail, co-worker and friend.”
Taryn noted, “I will never take for granted the people that believed in me and saw my potential. I hope to follow in the footsteps of my mentors by providing my time, as I know personally how much can be gained from learning those experiences.”
Recently Taryn participated in a LRW mentorship session and when asked, “Where I saw myself in 5 years, I told her the truth. I am exactly where I wanted to be. This was my 5-year plan, and I couldn’t be happier.”
As an avid outdoors person, Taryn learned how to rock climb. “I love to hike the low elevation stuff and then jump in the lake after to cool off. This last year I learned how to ski, and if you ask my partner, I was pretty good for never having done it before.”
“My greatest accomplishment is climbing Helvellyn (via Striding Edge), a mountain in England. It’s my greatest accomplishment because I went into it knowing it was going to be way outside of my comfort but yet excited to take on the challenge, as they say, The best view comes after the hardest climb.”
As to her advice to other women in rail, “Believe in yourself! It’s often easy to believe the opportunities that come along are random, simply lucky breaks or fortunate circumstances rather than the fruits of hard labor. It took me a long time to realize that they were not simple happenstance [but] rather, the results of the hard work I had put in. My ability to see this has both motivated me and given me the confidence to take on challenges of ever-increasing complexity.”
Taryn’s biggest love is for her family as she concluded, “I have an amazing family. My partner Frederick and I have been together for 3 years; we are a blended family and I am a “bonus” mom to his 2 amazing girls Penelope (10) and Lorelei (6). We also have a now 100lb chocolate lab, Rho – who, if asked, we all love the most.”
Thank you, Taryn, for sharing your thoughts and experiences with LRW. We encourage all LRW members to connect via LinkedIn and social media to continue to promote Women in Rail.
