In The News
Reducing Fear in the Workplace
The Real Leadership Podcast with Jim Weaver | September 3, 2024
How do you take a family business from survival mode to thriving on the global stage? Paula Marshall, CEO of The Bama Companies, did just that by focusing on reducing fear in the workplace. In this episode, Paula shares how she transformed Bama’s culture by fostering open communication
Paula Marshall Named Oklahoma Magazine’s Best of the Best CEO for 13thTime
Oklahoma Magazine | July 2024
This award goes to the person at the helm of a business who sets the tone and ensures a company’s mission is carried out day-to-day. Tulsa voters trust Paula Marshall of Bama Companies for her strategic vision and continuous dedication to expansion and excellence.
The Ultimate Female CEO and Entrepreneur
Do It My Way Podcast | December 4, 2023
Paula Marshall has been the CEO of Tulsa-based international food manufacturer, Bama Companies, Inc. since 1990. Paula explains how she started as a line worker and now leads a global empire with a completely different business model.
Meet Paula Marshall
Movers and Shakers Podcast | December 2022
Meet Paula Marshall, a Mover and Shaker in Tulsa, OK. Paula Marshall is the Chairman and CEO of Bama Companies. Join us as Paula shares the challenges she has faced and lessons she has learned while leading a global brand.
How to Employ Strategic Leadereship
Trailblazers Impact Podcast | 2021
It’s all about a strategic approach to leadership. Paula Marshall has served as the CEO for Bama Companies since 1984 and provides strategic leadership and direction to the organization. Bama companies is a family-owned business that specializes in frozen desserts and baked goods distributing to large companies like McDonald’s. In this episode, Paula lets us in on her strategic leadership approach
The Life Of Pie: Paula Marshall
CEO Magazine | 2021
At the heart of any family business lies a deep appreciation for the past. Everything a company is today is the accumulation of the passion and hard work of generations past; every step forward is an advancement of the journey started by those forebears. To be bequeathed your family’s vision and toil is a gift; your work runs through your veins. Family is a rock, and that’s never truer than in business.
Oklahoma Hall of Fame
Class of 2021
A third-generation Tulsan, Paula Marshall obtained her Associate’s Degree from Tulsa Community College and her Bachelors, Masters and Doctorate degrees from Oklahoma City University. Starting on the production line in her late teens and serving as CEO of the Tulsa-based international food manufacturer Bama Companies, Inc. for two decades, Marshall reinforces and models daily the mission of: People Helping People Be Successful with Caring and Accountability.
Baking Purpose into Business in Oklahoma: Stakeholder Mindset Guides Bama Companies
B The Change | 2020
As it nears a century in business, Bama Companies continues to grow as a food industry leader specializing in frozen desserts and baked goods for restaurants and retail and more than $300 million in annual revenue. But CEO Paula Marshall keeps her eye on more than the bottom line: She also sees the business as a way to benefit community and provide opportunity for people.
Multimillion-Dollar Global Food Leader Bama Companies Credits Success To Baked-In Stakeholder Governance
Forbes | 2020
As a family-owned business that specializes in frozen desserts and baked goods, the Bama Companies growth story is impressive: From its start of homemade pies made in grandma’s kitchen to its current-day products for restaurants and retail sold in 17 countries, Bama has grown into a global business with more than $300 million in annual revenue.
TCC 50th Anniversary Notable Alumni Feature
Tulsa Community College | 2020
Paula Marshall, Ph.D.: As Bama’s Board Chair and CEO, Paula helps provide strategic leadership and direction to the entire organization. Her vision stands as a beacon for Bama team members, inspiring the organization to achieve the Bama mission – “People Helping People Be Successful…with caring and accountability.”
Paula earned a business degree from TCC in 1986. After working at Bama Companies during her high school years, she assumed responsibility as Chair & CEO in 1990.
Eliminating fear with caring and accountability
TEDxZagreb | October 22, 2019
Want exponential growth? Global manufacturing CEO talks of her personal interaction with fear. She discovers that replacing it with caring and accountability accelerates business growth and builds long-term, customer loyalty. As Chief Executive Officer at Bama Companies she provides strategic leadership and direction to the entire organization.
OCCJ’s Annual Awards Honoree
Oklahoma Center for Community and Justice | 2019
OCCJ’s Annual Awards honor individuals of outstanding dedication and community service in the region. Honorees exhibit an extensive record of involvement in civic, charitable, volunteer, and professional organizations, and have contributed to the improvement of human relations among diverse groups in Oklahoma.
Bama CEO To Present Herrington Lecture/PEO Book Review March 30 at RSU
Rogers State University | 2017
Millions of biscuits and millions of pies are made each day at Bama facilities in our area and around the world. Much of the continuing success of this award-winning corporation is due to Paula Marshall, the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Diversity Officer of Bama Companies.
Mayor Recognizes Women of the Year – Pinnacle Award Winners
City of Tulsa | 2016
Mayor Dewey Bartlett recognized 10 outstanding Tulsa women who will receive Women of the Year – Pinnacle Awards at a gala ceremony on Friday, Feb. 5. A news conference was held Feb. 2 to announce the winners. The awards are sponsored by YWCA Tulsa and the Mayor’s Commission on the Status of Women.
The Women of the Year – Pinnacle Award winners embody the mission of YWCA Tulsa, eliminating racism and empowering women, and uphold the legacy of the Pinnacle Awards.
The Deming Institute | 2015
Paula Marshall was named the CEO of her family’s business, The Bama Companies, in 1985. Bama provides frozen baked goods to large-scale restaurant chains including the nation’s largest hamburger chain, the nation’s largest pizza chain and the nation’s largest retailer. Marshall received her Bachelor of Science in Business and her Doctorate of Commercial Science from Oklahoma City University.
Organization Aims To Push Female Athletics In Tulsa
News on 6 | 2014
There’s a push to help women and girls in the Tulsa area through sports and fitness. Athletic Women Excel Tulsa, or AWE Tulsa, is the name of the new initiative introduced Tuesday by the Tulsa Sports Commission.
It’s the brainchild of a group of local women headed by Bama Companies CEO, Paula Marshall. The hope is that AWE Tulsa will be able to bring a fresh focus on women’s athletic events and programs here not just for any economic benefit, but also for personal health.
The Bama Companies’ Paula Marshall to serve on ABA forum at IBIE
SF&WB | 2013
The American Bakers Association’s Executive Leadership Development Committee (ELDC) announces that Paula Marshall, CEO of The Bama Companies, Tulsa, Okla., will serve as a panelist at the ELDC Baking Industry Leadership Forum, to be held during the International Baking Industry Exposition (IBIE). A ticketed event, the forum will be held Oct. 8 from 5-6:45 p.m. at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Marshall will be joined by Mike McKee, president and CEO of McKee Foods Corp., Collegedale, Tenn.; Miles Jones, Dawn Food Products, Jackson, Mich.
Smart Business | 2010
Instead of primarily focusing on making money, Paula Marshall strives to build an atmosphere that focuses on employees and communication at The Bama Cos. Inc.
Smart Business spoke with Marshall on how to create an employee-centered business in corporate America.
The Century Club: Paula Marshall
The Journal Record | 2007
When H.C. Marshall lost his job in the 1920s, his wife, Cornillia Alabama Marshall, began earning a small income making pecan pies for a lunch counter. The venture proved so successful that she soon was making 75 pies each day. It wasn’t long before the Bama Pie Co. was born.
H.C. and Cornillia’s children took an interest in the growing business and they in turn passed along that interest to their children.
Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award
National Institute of Standards & Technologies | 2004
• While the overall frozen baked goods industry has remained relatively flat since 1999, Bama’s sales have increased 72 percent; total revenue has grown from $123 million in 1999 to $211 million in 2004.
• Bama shares company success with its employees through a profit-sharing process. Since 2001, this payment has averaged about $3,000 per year for each employee.
• Bama has a full-time leader of community development who is responsible for directing all of Bama’s charitable and volunteer efforts.
Tulsa Historical Society Hall Of Fame
Tulsa Historical Society | 2004
Bama supports a wide array of community service activities and organizations financially and with volunteer activities. Bama & Beijing Bama also have adopted schools that they support. Her companies thrive on her philosophy of commitment to employees and providing other people with opportunities and challenges for life improvement.
Academy of Achievement Honoree – Inducted 1999
SMEI Advanced Sales & Marketing | 1999
The SMEI Academy of Achievement was established in 1990 to recognize notable lifetime contributions to the free enterprise system through personal and corporate success in sales and marketing. It is SMEI’s Hall of Fame, honoring those whose qualities of professionalism, ethical standards, leadership, and excellence have made the free enterprise system work and made the world a better place to live.