Tonya Morelli of The Morelli Group delivered a message that felt familiar to many in the room at last Monday’s AICC Women in Packaging Breakfast: Leading at a high level requires deliberate choices, and without them, it can be easy to lose yourself along the way.
A University of Illinois Chicago graduate with a background in communications and broadcasting, Morelli did not begin her career in corrugated. She entered sales first, gaining early experience that shaped how she listens, builds relationships, and handles rejection. These skills would later carry into her work in packaging and print.
More than 20 years into her career, she has worked across many roles, helping guide the transformation of a multi-facility packaging platform serving national brands. But as she told the room, the path was not defined by title progression alone. It unfolded alongside marriage, four children, and the realities of working in a family business.
Coming into the family-owned Huston Patterson Printers as the owner’s daughter, Morelli said she felt a constant need to prove herself. In an industry where she was often the only woman in the room, credibility was something she worked to build over time.
That growth at work was happening at the same time life at home was getting fuller. As the VP of Sales and Marketing, travel, territory management, and long hours eventually became difficult to sustain. It was during that stretch that her perspective began to shift.
“You can do all of the things,” she said, “you just can’t do them all at the same time.” She described the exhaustion as more than long hours. It was the weight of balancing work, family, and growing expectations. She shared vibrant looking photos of herself where she recalled feeling completely drained and tired. From the outside, she noted, it rarely looks as heavy as it feels.
Inside the business, the pressure was building as Morelli audited the company for ways to save money and align the business with her big goals for growing it.
That process led her to make some tough calls that weren’t just operational. Some of the decisions affected people who had been part of the business for years. In a family company, those decisions carry a different kind of weight. Morelli spoke about that with care, emphasizing respect for what had been built while also recognizing the responsibility to move the company forward.
As she stepped further into leadership taking on the role of President, her understanding of the role changed. Early on, she believed leadership meant carrying every problem, every decision, every outcome. Over time, that approach proved unsustainable, especially as she juggled her growing family with college sweetheart and fellow industry veteran, Joe Morelli.
Instead, she focused on building structure within the organization: a clear set of priorities, defined accountability, and a consistent operating rhythm. The turnaround that followed centered on a small number of core metrics like safety, quality, delivery, and cost, supported by straightforward processes and ownership at every level.
Morelli acknowledged the fatigue that comes with holding together a business, a family, and a set of expectations, often without showing strain. From the outside, she said, it can look manageable. Internally, it’s much more complex. That reality became more tangible during a critical point in the business, when she personally guaranteed financing to keep operations moving, tying the company’s future directly to her own.
“I knew we were going to figure it out,” she said. “I just didn’t know how yet.”
Huston ultimately stabilized and improved performance, growing before being sold in 2022. Morelli said the decision reflected both business considerations and the need for alignment within the family. It also created space to separate business pressures from personal relationships. Following the sale, she transitioned into a broader operational role within a larger private equity organization, which required a bit of a mindset shift.
Without ownership of the business, Morelli said she had to reconsider how she defined her value outside of title or role. It is a question she now raises in conversations about leadership, particularly with others navigating similar paths.
Her work today includes mentoring and supporting the next generation of leaders, with a focus on those building careers in manufacturing and packaging. She speaks often about leadership development, family business dynamics, and the balance between career and home. Some of the most important lessons, she said, are not learned in the plant or the boardroom, but around the dinner table.
Her message to the audience reflected that perspective. Leadership is not only about performance or growth, but also about making intentional decisions; what to prioritize, what to step away from, and when to speak up.
Morelli closed with an enouraging note for anyone navigating leadership in the industry: “You don’t need more time. You don’t need permission. You already have everything, every tool you need to be ready. You just have to trust yourself.”
