Life Lessons with Tia Glave, President and Co-Founder of Catalyst Food Leaders

Catalyst Food Leaders President and Co-Founder Tia Glave was working toward a degree in chemical engineering when she attended a National Society of Black Engineers job fair. There, she was introduced to job opportunities in the food safety industry, and she hasn’t looked back since then.

“I hadn’t thought about going into food before, but when I ran into General Mills, I loved the people that I met, and you can tell they cared about each other,” Glave said. “It was the culture that shined through for me, and I knew that’s where I wanted to work.”

Glave took a leap of faith and joined General Mills’ rotational program for quality associates. She was able to work on multiple projects, collaborating with multiple functions in the organization, which allowed her to learn more about the possibilities the food safety industry had to offer.

Following her time at General Mills, Glave worked in different areas of the industry, like retail and ecommerce, and explored the regulatory landscape, solving issues around food safety and helping manufacturing and retail organizations build and strengthen their food safety and quality programs and culture.

In 2021, Glave and co-founder Jill Stuber launched Catalyst to transform how people lead in food, focusing on leading from a whole-being perspective. Catalyst’s programs, crafted specifically for people in food, are coaching-based and progressive to ensure the right development happens at the right time, Glave said.

Keeping on the path of creating change in the industry, Glave started the Black Professionals in Food Safety & Quality networking group to mentor and grow Black talent. She is an active member of the International Association for Food Protection, serving as the Food Safety Culture Professional Development Group Vice Chair. She also serves on the National Environmental Health Association Food Safety Committee.  

Glave shared more with QA on how she sees food safety leadership evolving in the future and her vision of an industry that places more value on people.

I loved being a cheerleader for the [General Mills] brand. I was responsible for food quality and safety for the Pillsbury Toaster Strudel line. Being able to talk to people who eat the products and to have this pride around food quality because I am directly responsible for it is really what kept me in food safety over the years.

A leadership style of empowerment and taking care of the whole person is a new style for the industry. We’re used to top-down leadership, and unfortunately, that has not been successful when it comes to culture in the industry in modern day. We have seen an increase in disengaged team members and issues with retention. The corporate landscape has changed, and people are also changing on what they expect from their employers.

The challenge that we see is that the industry hasn’t quite transitioned to the thought that each person needs to be developed on soft skills to help them be a better performer within the organization.

One of the reasons we created Catalyst is because organizations struggle with incorporating food safety into the way their work is done. I wanted to help make an impact there and help companies create a strategy around food safety and quality, empowering others and leadership development.

The most rewarding thing is watching leaders transform into even more impactful leaders. When people tell us they have more balance now and are refreshed and connect with people better at work, that’s what fuels my passion. When a leader says that and their team sees a shift and can work more cohesively as a team, that’s what makes me so excited to do this type of work.

Everyone should consume food without harm or injury. I take that part of my job very seriously. If the food is not safe, then it’s not food.

Food quality is about fun, making sure that your food is consistent and making the consumer excited about eating your food.

I hope this industry continues to place more value on people, their greatest assets, and helps them get the necessary skills to lead within an organization. Our hope is that people are able to come to work feeling energized and rejuvenated instead of feeling stressed and burned out.

The way that we think about leadership, leading from this whole-being perspective and incorporating coaching principles, is a new way of leading. We want to share Catalyst's leadership approach with not just the industry, but the world.