Cynthia Waggoner, vice-president, North American Integrated Supply Chain, Biscuits, for Mondel?z International, is U.S. Army through and through. She started in Army ROTC, served four years in the 24th Infantry Division out of Savannah, Ga., and two years as a company commander in South Korea. And she was an airborne paratrooper.

Today, her military experience is reflected in her management style. Her sense of leadership is engrained from her upbringing. She prefers leaders who are strong, principled, loyal and compassionate — a lot like herself. She demands performance but isn’t afraid to get down-and-dirty — literally — as in working sanitation side-by-side with hourly workers.

Find out more about Baking & Snack’s Operations Executive of the Year and her passion for leadership in the publication’s December digital issue.