Bella Qiu

2020 STEP Ahead Honoree

Operations Director
Jabil Inc.

Manufacturing is the basic and key step to provide high-quality products to customers all over the world to benefit them. Manufacturing can provide more people with jobs and create chances to help more people to change their life.

Bella’s career at Jabil, a manufacturing services company that employs 200,000 people in 100 facilities across 29 countries, has been marked by one success after another. Her leadership skills have inspired teams to tackle numerous daunting challenges, including the major expansion of a Jabil facility in India. In 2019, Bella led the development of a new factory, bringing a smart digital ecosystem to the company’s production process and helping advance the entire company’s goal to be the world’s most technologically advanced manufacturing solutions provider. Thanks to Bella’s leadership, this massive project was named a Lighthouse site—a beacon for others to follow—of innovative testing, advanced problem-solving and a center of best practices. It is the first of its kind in the company.

Bella is committed to creating opportunities for young employees. During her time as director, the percentage of female leaders has increased from 8 percent to 48 percent at her site. And the new Lighthouse site created the opportunity for 14 new managers, 42 percent of whom were female. Not only is Bella dedicated to helping new hires, she also ensures good career planning for mid-career employees. Bella has advanced the Female Successor Cultivation program, a resource that offers training and mentorship for female management talent to make sure there is never a shortage of women in the industry.

Bella has built strong connections with local schools in and around Shenzhen. This collaboration has helped bridge an age-old gap between urban and rural areas and gave students the chance to develop career aspirations they never had before. Bella also serves on the Bao’an People’s Congress, a province-specific organization that gives community members a voice on issues relating to their future. She plays an active role in developing proposals to enhance the well-being of people in her community.