work at Gemline, if you’re coming here to be the superstar, you’re coming to the wrong place, because this is a team sport. I like the way we support each other. We are focused on everybody having a voice, having the ability to grow and do well, no matter where they are in the organization. I very much enjoy walking people through the organization. You can feel the culture as we walk through the plant. You see people look up, smile, greet you and engage. People feel seen and heard and have agency to improve processes. A long time ago I realized that happy people make happy products. And our goal in part is to give associates the opportunity to get ahead, because that’s how a company and community works better. PPAI Media: One of the ways Gemline is renowned for going to market is through give-back programs, not to mention your own charitable contributions. What has prompted that passion? Isaacson: I am not sure what prompted it, outside of the fact that we have always felt it our responsibility to give back given how fortunate we have been. It started by my getting involved in our local community, which has a lot of need. We found that we had the ability to make a difference and it just continued. Personally, I think this country works better when corporations engage in the community and try to be a part of the solution. And, there’s a lot of ways to do that. Some of it is simply providing financial resources. Some of it is providing expertise or volunteer hours. There are a lot of ways to give back. And, frankly, giving back is extraordinarily rewarding for our people and for me personally. I like that this is a part of the corporate ethos. PPAI Media: Speaking of another community, one of the areas that is often an attribute of PPAI Hall of Fame members is board service to the Association. That wasn’t your path, although you volunteered time and talents in other ways, through committee work and especially speaking. Why were you drawn to that? Isaacson: So, No. 1, I’m incredibly grateful to the Association for this honor given that I have a nontraditional background for it. With that, I feel very connected, engaged, and grateful to the industry. That is why we have done so much to try to give back. I used to joke that I’ve spoken at just about every venue from under bridges to large ballrooms, and everything in between, and there are a number of reasons I’ve done it. PPAI Media: Such as? Isaacson: I like the industry. I like the people in the industry. I like what the industry does. I’m grateful to the industry for supporting me and the company. It’s fun and intellectually stimulating. I learn something by going and talking to people. I get out of it as much as I put into it, just in terms of thinking about what the challenge is and what the opportunities might be. That’s been one of the important messages in engaging with the industry, whether it’s the webinars or the talks or the work that I’ve done on committees, it’s being able to say, ‘Here are the challenges that we might face, and here’s where that creates an opportunity.’ Almost every challenge invariably creates an opportunity, which is a message that occasionally gets lost. I also think we all do well when the industry does well. If the industry is better at compliance, if the industry is offering better products, more sustainable products, if the industry is seen in a better light by the consumer and by industry in general, then we all do better. The rising tide lifts all boats, and if that’s going to happen, it’s incumbent upon the players that are involved, especially the bigger ones, to engage with the Association and try to make things better.. PPAI Hall of Fame | Must Read “I also think we all do well when the industry does well. If the industry is better at compliance, if the industry is offering better products, more sustainable products, if the industry is seen in a better light by the consumer and by industry in general, then we all do better.” PPAI • JANUARY 2025 • 47
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