Heidi Levin (W'87)

Email: Feel free to contact Heidi Levin at hjlevin@sbcglobal.net

What do you do now and where are you based? 

I am the Chief Financial Officer of a company called Fooda. I started on January 1st of this year. Fooda provides lunch services to companies, but we do it differently than traditional providers. We partner with over 2000 restaurants and bring a different restaurant to a company every day. The restaurant provides the food and labor to serve lunch to employees. Fooda does all the logistics, including finding clients and restaurants, scheduling restaurants at the client sites, customer service and billing etc. The other part of our business is managing large corporate cafeterias, which we do using the same model, partnering with restaurants. A standard cafeteria will have one or two “resident” restaurants which are there every day, and we will bring in a variety of different restaurants additionally. Fooda is headquartered in Chicago (where I live), but we have clients throughout the country in 20 different cities. 

What’s an average day in the life for you? 

I spend around 65% of my time managing a group of financial analysts and accountants, focusing on the accounting/monthly reporting as well as on-going financial analysis to better understand the results and identify areas for improvement.  In addition to the routine work, there are a few additional projects for the company that I work on. I spend around 30-40% of my day in meetings with people. I interact with people throughout the company – from engineering, with the goal of improving our systems to operations to ensure we have the right processes and controls in place. I also often meet with the CEO and President. 

How has Covid affected your work and your company? 

Last year (2021) I was not actively looking for a job. I was previously the CFO for a small consumer packaged goods company that focused on coffee products, and I got approached in October 2021 out of the blue for the job at Fooda. When I first spoke to the company about the opportunity, I wondered how Fooda was still in business. During Covid, the company lost ⅔ of its office business. But pre-Covid, Fooda made investments in specific businesses with the goal of diversifying its revenue stream and that decision paid off during COVID.  For example, the Company developed a business focused on warehouse and distribution facilities, as this type of work requires that employees go to the facility (that is they cannot work from home).  In addition, many of these warehouses have 3 shifts, 7 days a week which allows Fooda to provide up to 21 meals a week (7 days a week, 3 meals a day), which is a lot more than an average office. The employees at these large warehouses really appreciate Fooda’s service, because previously they had limited options for lunch. The Company also put more emphasis behind the healthcare sector, another industry where remote work is not possible. Fooda had to lay off a fair number of employees due to Covid, but many of those people have since been rehired. I think it says a lot about a company when an employee is willing to come back after they were laid off. 

What is the greatest accomplishment of your career?

I’ve done a lot of different things in my career - From Wall Street to private equity to operational roles. A lot of times, you’re asked where you want to be in five years, and I have never been very good at having an answer – I never knew what I wanted to do five years out as I have a lot of interests. In some ways not having a specific five year goal has been a benefit because I have been willing to consider/hold a variety of positions.  And all of my different experiences have prepared me for my role as a Chief Financial Officer.  I don’t think I would be as successful in this job if I hadn’t had all of my prior experiences. Since I first became a CFO a few years ago, some people have asked me “how were you able to transition your career from primarily working in private equity to being a CFO?” It’s because I’ve been able to gain something from every experience that I’ve had and I have taken that knowledge and use it in my current position.  I say this is an accomplishment because I know others who want to transition from their current career to something different and they are not always successful.  The fact that I created a career with a variety of experiences and achieved a level of success is an accomplishment for me.  

How has being a woman affected your career trajectory, if it has? 

In one way, it has not: I’ve never told myself I can’t do this because I’m a woman. I went into every job thinking I was as capable and smart as everyone else. But I think I was a bit naive. I do think there’s an inherent reality that in many ways it is still a “man’s world.” I try not to let it bother me.  I have also learned that the degree to which you feel that being a woman is a disadvantage is highly dependent on the corporate culture; there are some cultures that simply are not going to fully accept you (even if they tell you otherwise). Unfortunately, double standards are real - there are behaviors that are acceptable for men that aren’t acceptable for women. But there are cultures, including ones at my last three jobs, where you are treated the same, whether you’re a woman or a man. I strongly encourage people to seek out those cultures. 

What advice do you have for our members as they begin exploring internships, careers, and the business world at large? 

If you want to be an investment banker, for example, that’s great and there’s nothing wrong with that. I was an investment banker early in my career and it was a great experience for me. I definitely gained knowledge that I probably couldn’t have gained elsewhere. But I also would strongly encourage your members to have an open mind! Consider a wide variety of opportunities, even ones that may seem a bit out of your comfort zone.  In the early 90s, I worked for a technology services company, and working there inspired me to get my masters in computer science. With that background, I developed the ability to communicate easily with engineers and understand, usually better than most financial executives, the company’s systems and how they work. I would have never developed that skill if I had not kept an open mind about going to work for this technology services company. And that experience (at the technology services company) helped me land other positions.  

What was your Penn experience like? What advice do you wish you had known when you were an undergraduate? 

I had a wonderful experience and education. I was on the Wharton Advisory Board, involved with Greek life, and had a work study job. And I took heavy course loads – in addition to my Wharton classes, I took a lot of history classes. I wish I had taken more advantage of some of the extracurricular activities at Penn, but it is hard to balance when you’re so busy. My advice is to pick one or two things that you are passionate about, and focus on them. One thing I did well was take advantage of the faculty, and form relationships with them, which was invaluable. 

Is there anything else you’d like to share? 

People should think about what’s important to them. My life has been a little different from other people – I don’t have children, and that’s an outcome of my focus on my career. Other people might prioritize differently. Another piece of advice is that Penn has a really valuable network – I was involved with the Penn Club and the Wharton Club in Chicago.