South Africa, Aug. 19 -- This required credibility-building of a particular kind. Early in her career she had to work harder to establish her voice and demonstrate that she belonged at the decision-making table. She did it the same way she has always done things: through competence, consistency and a willingness to understand every aspect of the operation, from field execution to financial controls to process design.

Today she leads a team of seven women in key operational and leadership roles. She describes it with undisguised pride: proof, she says, that operational excellence has no gender. Those women did not arrive there by accident. Scott is intentional about creating opportunities, about lifting people as she grows; a principle sh...