Karla Trotman, our executive vice president here at Electro Soft, Inc., was honored by Penn State University’s Smeal College of Business during its annual Alumni Society Board Awards Program on March 24.

Karla, who holds a master’s degree in business administration from Drexel University and a bachelor’s degree in business logistics from Penn State, was presented with the Alumni Diversity Award, which “recognizes a graduate who has demonstrated a commitment to the college’s goal of being a diverse and mutually supportive community that provides a climate of sensitivity, open-mindedness, and respect.” She was among four alumni and two students recognized at the 2017 Awards Program and Hammond Society Dinner at the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel.

Karla got her start at Electro Soft, Inc., back when she’d help her father, company founder Jim Wallace, by cutting wires in the family garage. Since then, she says, “I’ve worked at every building we’ve ever had.”

While she’s always worked at Electro Soft in some capacity, after graduating from Penn State in 1998, she further honed her business acumen by working at other companies, too.  At Ikea and The Gap, she held positions such as supply chain specialist and distribution supervisor.  “I was able to take that education and use it here as far as purchasing, supply chain, looking at ways to cut costs,” she says. “My passion has always been business.”

Electro Soft was founded in 1986 and is based in Montgomeryville, Pennsylvania. It’s one of the largest independent contract manufacturers for Circuit Boards and Wire Harnesses in its market area.

Penn State’s Smeal College of Business was founded in 1953. One Alumni Diversity Award is given each year. Nominations for the award are solicited from Smeal faculty, staff, student organizations, and current members of the Smeal Alumni Society.