On Wednesday, October 20, Stericycle President and Chief Executive Officer, Cindy J. Miller, joined the National Safety Council’s (NSC) Women in Safety Leadership webinar, a series featuring interviews with some of the foremost female leaders in safety. In her conversation with Cassandra Dillion, Women’s Workplace Issues Lead at NSC, Ms. Miller discussed her career journey from a UPS driver to the first female CEO of a publicly traded waste company as well as Stericycle’s commitments to safety and empowering women in the workplace.
When asked about female inclusion in the workplace, Ms. Miller highlighted some of Stericycle’s recent diversity initiatives and achievements. Stericycle’s corporate board exceeds the national average for female-held board seats and was recognized by the Women’s Forum of New York for our commitment to advancing gender parity in the boardroom. We also developed five employee resource groups dedicated to supporting women, Black and African Americans, LatinX, veterans, and the LGBTQ+ community. Our employee resource groups serve as a safe and supportive space for team member empowerment, engagement, and mentorship.
Ms. Miller also discussed Stericycle’s new safety initiatives including the rollout of our global, award-winning internal defensive driving program known as SWAT (steer, watch, anticipate and take action). Through this employee training, we ensure that our drivers stay safe, so we can protect healthcare workers, patients, and communities.
When asked about building the foundation of change within a company, Ms. Miller offered this advice, “If you want to change anything within a company you have to develop successes. One of the things that I found is that starting with safety is a great place for an organization to get momentum towards the acceptance of change. We started with that here at Stericycle. We are very early in our journey and have plenty of room to grow and improve, but building on those safety successes has afforded us the opportunity to layer other successful transformations and processes on top of that. Safety is the foundation.”
Since being named the first female CEO of a publicly traded waste company in May 2019, Ms. Miller has centralized processes, standardized procedures, and leveraged synergies to modernize operations while driving organic revenue growth and operational efficiencies. She also took the CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion pledge to demonstrate Stericycle’s commitment to cultivating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace.
In September, Ms. Miller was named a Gold Stevie® Award winner in the Stevie Awards for Women in Business. She was also recognized in the Forbes 50 Over 50 List, which honors entrepreneurs, leaders, scientists, and creators who, after the age of 50, are achieving their greatest accomplishments and making their biggest impact while shattering age and gender norms.
Learn more about Stericycle's commitment to health and safety.
