NutraWomen Wednesday: Merce Piñol del Olmo, Aker BioMarine

23-Aug-2023 - Last updated on 23-Aug-2023 at 13:11 GMT

Merce Piñol del Olmo is an industry leader with broad experience in the nutraceutical sector. As the VP of Sales for Europe, Middle East and Africa, the Norwegian is responsible for the growth strategy in these regions.

After working in sales for mostly synthetic ingredients for several years, del Olmo said she was excited to sell traceable, natural ingredients.

During an interview last summer, she also got to meet some of the people who work at Aker BioMarine and see the company culture firsthand.

“Everyone I met was really fantastic, everyone was really energetic, everyone was really inclusive and also, one thing that I really like is women in leadership positions. I felt that this company is really supporting women in leadership positions. And I could see when I had my first interview, there was a good mix of four different executive VPs, which was a mix of women and men. And I felt like I really like this, because I felt that in many other jobs, a lot of high jobs are basically with men and this company had a really good balance,” said del Olmo. “So it was a combination of the products, the people, the culture of the company, also being a working mom, the flexibility of if I need something, the company is very flexible in letting me take care of the family or other things.”

Aker BioMarine also recently announced that the company joined Women In Nutraceuticals (WIN) as a founding sponsor–something del Olmo was instrumental in making happen. The nonprofit is dedicated to building support for women in the nutraceuticals industry, to help increase the percentage of women holding leadership roles in the C-suite and across the dietary supplement supply chain, funding for female-led businesses, and women’s participation in nutraceuticals research.

“I felt that being part of the WIN is like joining a community of women who really want to develop their careers, who want to develop a network within the industry, to share experiences to maybe when we have faced things, like for example, salary discussions–seems like a taboo topic, but something that we should be talking about more, like when we have to get a promotion, how do we go to ask for a promotion? I feel that sometimes women are a little bit more shy than men–and we shouldn't be,” said del Olmo.