Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsiTechGuides is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Learn more
In an August 2023 episode of EE Times Current, Electro Soft president and CEO Karla Trotman talks through her route from logistics and corporate work to leading her family’s electronics manufacturing business. The conversation also covers contract manufacturing, supply-chain pressures as she saw them at the time, representation, and how young people can get a closer look at manufacturing careers.
The 27-minute, 11-second episode is the first installment in EE Times’ series on diversity and belonging in electronics engineering. Editor in chief Brett Brune interviews Trotman about her career and her perspective on the industry. The EE Times episode page includes the full transcript.
How Trotman describes her path to company leadership
Trotman says she studied business logistics and began her career in distribution management, followed by corporate logistics roles. While on leave, she built an online maternity-commerce business and learned about search and marketing—skills she later brought to Electro Soft, her family’s company.
Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
She recalls moving between work at Electro Soft and corporate employment before returning to the company in 2010. In her account, her father planned to retire, and she took over leadership in 2020. She describes learning to ask questions and take on unfamiliar work as important parts of her path. Recalling one assignment to secure ISO 9001 certification, she says, “I like to understand what is being asked of me or communicated.” The interview recounts that past effort; it does not establish the company’s current certification status.
#1 Best Overall
- Staff Engineer: Leadership beyond the management track
- Will Larson
- ABIS BOOK
What the interview says Electro Soft does
Trotman describes Electro Soft as a family electronics contract manufacturer. She says it once designed industrial equipment, wrote software, and manufactured products, but shifted its focus to manufacturing as market demand changed. In the interview, she discusses work involving original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and military requirements.
She explains that when a component becomes unavailable, the company and supplier technicians may identify possible substitutes, but the customer’s engineers retain approval authority. She says Electro Soft no longer takes on design work within the scope she describes. These details reflect Trotman’s account in 2023; they should not be taken as a current, independently verified description of the company’s services, contracts, or customers.
Rank #2
What Trotman said about manufacturing and supply chains in 2023
Asked about semiconductor lead times and sourcing, Trotman says timing depends on the design and on how long a customer is willing to wait. She describes Electro Soft’s purchasing and production as just-in-time and says it uses stocking distributors. The episode gives no independently verified lead-time figure.
Her wider comments are a snapshot of her views in August 2023, not a current supply-chain report. At that time, she said component shortages remained an issue, some customers wanted to reduce reliance on China, and wage pressure was affecting costs. She also described manufacturing investment as increasing in different parts of the world.
Rank #3
- we like to ship out right away
Representation and access, in Trotman’s account
Trotman recounts that her father, an electrical engineer who started Electro Soft, was sometimes overlooked by people who assumed another employee was in charge. She also describes unfair treatment in her own corporate experience. On supplier-diversity programs, she says that some designations led mainly to database listings rather than meaningful business opportunities, while acknowledging that some customers did seek the company out because they wanted to diversify suppliers.
In the interview, Trotman says half of Electro Soft’s staff are women and half are people of color. That is her statement from 2023, not an independently verified or current workforce statistic. The episode offers personal accounts rather than a survey measuring bias, supplier-diversity outcomes, or industry-wide workforce representation.
Why she advocates hands-on exposure for young people
Trotman argues that students are more likely to consider manufacturing when they can see the work for themselves. She describes student placements and workplace tours, including young visitors who later told her that building products made them think more carefully about design. Her point is practical: manufacturing may not feel like a career option to someone who has never encountered it directly.
The episode does not compare educational approaches or measure the results of tours and placements. It presents Trotman’s case for making manufacturing visible through real workplace exposure, alongside classroom learning.
Best Value
Advice for women and girls interested in electronics
Trotman’s advice is to stay curious, ask questions, and resist the pressure to conform. As she puts it: “I would say just bring your whole self into the room. Don’t try to fit in. Conformity is not the way. Say what you mean. Ask the questions. Be you. It’s your unique voice that enhances the space.”
That message connects the episode’s career discussion to its inclusion theme: Trotman presents asking questions and contributing an individual perspective as strengths, rather than traits to hide in technical workplaces.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
