Women of Distinction 2021: Pella Windows & Doors of Wisconsin

This special section features some of our city’s most accomplished female leaders. These women represent a wide variety of fields, from finance and education to interior design, health care and more. Join us in saluting them in our third annual Women of Distinction!

Gina Della, General Manager; Photo by Linda Smallpage, Boutique Photographer

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Twenty-five years ago, when Gina Della first started her career as the owner of a replacement window business, she walked into the local office of a manufacturer and overheard people talking. “The office girls were literally chatting about me, saying, ‘She’s exactly who you picture sitting around worrying about her manicure and hair and eating bon bons,’” Della says. Only one month into her new career, it was a painful moment. “To overcome it, I sold a record amount of windows as one of their subcontractors in my first year,” she says. “They soon started taking me seriously.” Della has continued to deliver that record-breaking success across years in the sales business. Most recently, as the general manager at Pella Windows, she’s boosted the company’s sales by double digits.

“I have so much passion and drive for what I do, my goal in the next five years is to be doing exactly what I am right now.”

 

– Gina Della

Q&A

What do you most enjoy about working at Pella Windows & Doors of Wisconsin?

My absolute favorite part is training our Pella WI sales team to be the most knowledgeable and professional consultants in the industry as they spend time with our customers in their homes.

What would you say is the most important lesson you’ve learned over your career?

I don’t overthink anything. I take things one day at a time. Honestly, if I stopped to think about everything for which I’m ultimately responsible – marketing to bring in enough business to support our staff and their families, training the different positions in our segment of the company to not only make sure we hit our goals, but stay in the top 5% of the Pella locations around the country, I would be paralyzed. Main lesson learned, all overthinking gets done is a lot of thinking.

What do you hope to accomplish over the next five years?

I have so much passion and drive for what I do, my goal is to be doing exactly what I am right now. On a related note, it would also be amazing to have my son follow in my footsteps. He’s not only in the business, as well; he’s been alongside me since he was 5 years old. In the years ahead, I do hope to find more “me” time, hopefully be a grandmother, and make time for exercise.


 

This story is part of Milwaukee Magazine‘s November issue.

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