Page 6 - The MILConnection: Winter 2022
P. 6
company news
Top COO!
MIL’s COO was chosen as one of the 10 best COOs of 2021
by Industry Era Women Leaders Magazine. Read Marisa
Daley's article here and below:
The MIL Corporation’s COO, in and be true to yourself. Your authenticity will drive your
Marisa Daley, is a high-energy relationships, your ability to lead, and the belief others have
business professional who in you.”
brings her dynamic personality For Marisa, the significant component of being a female
and progressive leadership to leader is being a mom of three. Children want and expect
the executive offices of MIL. their mom to be there for them. At the same time, a leader’s
Marisa uses her open and team and clients also expect them to be attentive to their
welcoming communication style needs. There’s a delicate balancing act that ensues to meet
to build strong personal and those competing interests. “The big lesson I’ve learned is that
professional connections within mistakes are inevitable; you’re going to make them so it’s vital
and outside of the company. that you learn from them. Recognize your errors and quickly
Her leadership approach is figure out a remediation plan, and then use those lessons
fueled by a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion learned to inform your decisions further down the road,” says
as she champions initiatives to strengthen and enrich MIL’s the steadfast leader, who armed with these qualities, is taking
corporate culture. These efforts have encouraged a free- the company to new heights.
flowing exchange of ideas among her colleagues and the
freedom to be innovative, which has helped surface many
creative ideas. Marisa focuses a sizable portion of her time and "Marisa uses her open and welcoming
talent on strengthening MIL’s business development capability communication style to build strong personal
and cultivating cross-collaboration among teams. and professional connections within and
Marisa started her career on Wall Street in a highly male- outside of the company."
dominated environment. “To compete, I thought I had to
adapt my style of dress and adopt a more masculine behavior
to fit in. After years of adapting and adopting to create a MIL was founded in 1980 by two industry veterans after
persona that wasn’t truly authentic, I came to realize that careers spent at different levels within the government
I shouldn’t need to be other than who I am, and that I’m contracting field. After working at large and small companies
enough just as I am,” says Marisa. “I now believe that if and seeing the struggles and deficiencies at both ends of the
you work diligently and produce exceptional results, you spectrum, MIL’s founders wanted to create a company that
cannot and will not be denied. So ultimately, I think the most could leverage large company resources and capabilities while
significant barrier in my career was man-made—or more maintaining the responsiveness, hands-on approach, and
accurately woman made—as I thought as a woman I had personal touch of a much smaller enterprise. Their mission
to act differently to compete and succeed. In truth, I really statement at the time was People Making the Difference, as
just needed to believe more in my own abilities and execute they recognized that a service company’s product is its people.
accordingly, and then let my performance be judged on its “As current COO of that same company, which still operates
merits.” under that same mandate, it’s up to me to carry it forward and
Having worked and struggled a bit within a very patriarchal deliver the quality services that matter most to our customers.”
culture, Marisa understands the barriers women experience MIL’s motto is People Making a Difference, and this is true.
in traditionally male-dominated industries. Her personal story But internally, their unofficial motto is Making a Difference for
has informed her desire to help other women professionals Our People. “We value our employees because they dedicate
excel and not allow themselves to be handicapped by themselves to making their clients successful. We set them
perceived or even real obstacles to success. “My advice is up for success by keeping company demands to a minimum.
usually pretty straightforward: believe in your own value We support them through our fully dedicated and fully staffed
and work to the level you are comfortable with; there really Corporate Service Center, and they, in turn, use their energies
isn’t a right or wrong approach or outcome,” adds Marisa. to support our customers.”
“If you truly want to be a great leader, you have to believe
6 | the MIL connection | winter 2022