LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- GE Appliance Park sits just off Poplar Level Road, a 900-acre manufacturing facility with more than 12,000 employees.
And among those at the helm of one of the largest appliance brands in the country is chief operating officer, Melanie Cook.
Cook worked her way up since college. She moved around with the company to 17 different places, eventually settling in Louisville nine years ago.
“I grew up in northeastern Ohio in a very hard working family," she said. "My mom was an ER nurse on the night shift, and my dad was in construction."
She juggles being a member of several boards — including Family Scholar House — being a wife, a mother and an inspiration in a male-dominated industry.
“I always make sure I'm at the table, literally,” Cook said.
She said she managers her time and said there’s no such thing as “work-life balance.” She plainly calls it “life.”
“You're going to go through periods of time where you're going to put your career first, because you're going to accelerate," she said. "You're going to make the moves. You're going to make the tradeoffs.
“The other thing I would suggest is there really isn't such a thing as work-life balance. It's more about how you integrate things. My son actually comes to the industrial design area and spent a day with the team on designing the next generation of appliances at the age of 13. So if you give them these experiences and integrate them into the work you're doing, then it becomes a lot more seamless.”
She has advice for other women who mean business: “knowledge is power.”
“I'm a big believer that education is a great equalizer," Cook said. "And no matter what your background is or where you came from, you can do whatever you choose to do."
And she encourages women not to “overthink it.”
“Stop that,” she said. “Just have faith that the building blocks you already built are going to lend you to have the capabilities."
For young girls out there, Cook said to make a way to bring other women along with you on the road to success.
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