For International Women’s Day this year, we’re giving you a peek behind the scenes to celebrate some of the inspirational women behind Palm. Whether it’s running our UK and European warehouses smoothly; or out on the road building trusting relationships with customers around the world; managing the production of the best paddling gear at the source, or running the repair service to help make your kit last longer our female colleagues work hard to make Palm what it is today.
Being the change
Celine Audebeau – general director, Palm Red River & Clear River factories, Vietnam
‘It’s been more than eleven years that I’ve been managing the factory, seven years as a man and four years as a woman. As a man, no one questions your capacity to manage a factory. Coming back as a female, I was terrified at first and wondered if I would be able to continue managing the factory and if my authority would be questioned. Not only did I have really great support from Andy Knight, the director at Palm, but also my Japanese boss. On top of that, I got full support from all my managing staff as well as from the employees. People today are more accepting in my ability to lead.’
In 2017, Celine underwent surgery to become a trans woman. She lives in Hanoi and runs our Red River and Clear River factories. Find out about her journey here.
Building bonds
Do Minh Hang – human resources director, Palm Red River factory, Vietnam
‘I have been working for Red River for eleven years – what an impressive number that is! When I was at school, I never thought I would become a senior leader in an organisation. My enthusiasm and love for my job have allowed me to get to where I am today. You don’t have to be bossy or masculine to lead.
I’m close to my colleagues and always respect them. I am a strong believer that if they think of you like family they will stay and dedicate themselves to building the company like a family.’
In our Vietnam factories, 75% of all staff and 67% of our senior management are female. Thanks to the work of Hang our turnover rate is 2.9% which is low compared to the national average of 24% in Vietnam.
Repair magician
Pam Jones – customer service, UK
‘I’ve been at Palm twenty-seven years now as a machinist. Starting out making the original double dry cag and then the first glued and stitched Neoprene spraydecks, I now do all the repairs, make adjustments, and work on some prototypes. I’ve always enjoyed the challenge of figuring things out, and Palm has always supported me in that. Working with Andy (Palm’s founder) I was one of the few machinists making the original Palm Gore-tex drysuits back in the day, which was amazing.
I always say if I can’t repair it, then it can’t be mended, so seeing garments come back after twenty years for a repair and then going back out is a real pleasure … But then sometimes a suit comes in soaking wet, covered in mud and smelling like the cat’s peed on it – paddlers are X@ʘʤ’s on those days!’
Using old fabrics that have a story, Pam uses her spare time to create fantastic crafts, like someone’s school sports top, or a bridesmaid dress made into a memory bear. Have a look for Pam Jones Crafts on Facebook.
Keeping it core
Sam Hall – IT manager, UK
With Palm since 2004, like many other staff, Sam has had experience throughout the business. Starting in sales, and then making sure our customer service department was second to none, she became fully involved in heading up our IT department when we undertook a major project introducing new operations software, linking our manufacturing and sales. Before she knew it, she became head of IT and now she keeps us connected in a digital world. And tells us to turn it on and off again sometimes!
Sam is part of a core of staff keeping Palm running smoothly day-to-day. Our front-of-house staff in management, sales, accounts, customer service, and marketing are 52% female.
Swiss army knife
Manuela Gawehn – sales assistant Palm Europe, Germany
‘I do everything from processing repairs and customs clearance to packing boats and planning new orders. We are a great team that works hard together. Jan, our manager, says I’m like the multitool of our operation.
Since 1996, I’ve been in different leading positions in the German Canoe Federation and as an advisor of the ICF committee. For me being the first female chairperson at ICF doesn’t matter. What matters is that we are working closely together on our objectives. What I notice is that more and more women are paddling in canoe clubs and on the rivers. We can see the same within national and international committees in different leadership positions. In my wild water committee, there are now three women which is a great success having been the lone female committee member for the last seventeen years.’
Coinciding with the opening of Palm’s European base in Asbach, Germany, Manuela became the first woman to be appointed as a committee chair for the International Canoe Federation (ICF) – for wild water racing in 2020.
Stepping up
Rowena Knight – director and daughter of Palm’s founder Andy Knight, UK
‘After college, it was a tough job market, so I said I would come for a month. Flash forward to twelve years later and I’m still here! I’ve done everything at Palm; from answering the phone to washing spraydecks. When we changed our setup in Europe it gave me the opportunity to progress. Back then our trade customers were mostly men, but it didn’t matter that I was a young female when they saw I could deliver and that they could trust in me.
At the time, Palm had a lot of strong female team paddlers, which I found inspirational. We continue to maintain a strong female team and carry that attitude through Palm as a business as well as working with female paddlers to develop great female gear.
We want to keep encouraging diversity and inclusion in our company; it’s so important to have women in every place you have men, otherwise, you only have the views of half the population. Being a medium-sized family-run company, it can be challenging at times, but we are very open to looking at people based on their merits.’
Rowie accelerated Palm’s action on reducing or eliminating plastic used in packaging. Removing over 2,000 m of foam rolls and 1,500 kg of plastic bags yearly from PFDs and other garments plus switching to paper tape on shipping cartons and setting the policy to use card packaging wherever possible.
Reaching out
Janice Lo – PR and marketing coordinator, UK
You might’ve met Janice at an event, on the water, or spoken to her over our social media accounts. She grew up in several countries and didn’t get into kayaking until she moved to the UK for the first of her two master’s degrees. We first heard about her through long-time paddler and friend of our brand Sonja Jones. Sonja was trying to get back on the water after a bad experience swimming out of a kayak. Janice, who was working as a raft guide at the time, took her out on the water as a client on her raft. Sonja come off the water grinning ear-to-ear, and Janice recommended she tried getting into rafting if kayaking didn’t work out. Janice has a knack for making paddling less intimidating and more accessible, more inclusive. She now manages the Palm, VE and Dagger Europe teams, curates our social media, organises and attends paddling events, amongst many other things.
Since she joined us almost five years ago, she’s been working to increase representation in paddlesport, through the athletes she manages and also by engaging with women’s paddling groups. We’ve been making female-specific gear since 1993, but we’re always keen to make things better. Now, through work from staff like Janice, we are developing better-fitting gear to ensure everyone feels comfortable and safe on the water.
Janice is a strong believer in making the outdoors as inclusive as possible so that more people can enjoy the activities we all love. Two years ago, she co-founded Kit Collective, on a mission to remove barriers and create opportunities for people underrepresented in the outdoors. Kit Collective supports grassroots groups that encourage diversity, inclusion, and participation in outdoor activities.
