This leader traveled across an ocean to find a career she loves.

Atlanta Division Regional Director Aissata Deme was born in France and lived in several countries in Europe and Africa while growing up. As a teenager, she was always fascinated with U.S. culture, but her family couldn’t afford to send her here for college. It took the cooperation of her father and older brother to finally get her settled in Atlanta, where she immediately enrolled at Georgia Institute of Technology (aka Georgia Tech).

At the time, she spoke only French and Spanish. To help practice the English she was learning in college, Aissata took a job as a front service clerk at #468, Sandy Springs, Georgia, where she quickly advanced in the customer service department. By the time she graduated in 2007, she was a customer service manager, and she’d grown to love what she was doing at Publix. She interviewed at a couple of other large companies, but ultimately decided to stay.

“I would leave other interviews and compare the companies to Publix,” Aissata said. “I just love it here, and I have an admiration for the company and what it stands for. I identified Publix’s values with my own — honesty, integrity and loyalty. It was easy for me to flourish here.”

Aissata spent the next 9 years gaining leadership experience. And as she interacted with more associates, she learned 2 more languages, bringing her total to 5. She was promoted to district manager in 2016 — and in 2020, she was a recipient of the President’s Award, one of the highest honors Publix bestows. She moved into her current role at the beginning of this year.

“My story is a success story,” Aissata explained. “I want to be a role model for others to know they can do it. Like, ‘Look at Aissata. She made it, so I can too.’”

Aissata is grateful for the support of her family and the inspiration and guidance she has received from Publix leaders.

“I feel fortunate all the time,” she said. “I owe a lot to Publix. I love this company.”

Principles and leadership
Aissata believes personal values shape a leader’s professional character and decisions. For her, those include accountability, responsibility, hard work and being willing to fail.

“I wanted to move into leadership with Publix because I wanted to continue to motivate and inspire people,” Aissata said. “You have to remember all these lives you’re touching and how your decisions affect others.”

Aissata is very close to her family, and she credits her parents with providing her and her brothers with the freedom to be independent, as long as they took ownership of their actions.

“My parents taught us about having the will to persevere in life — about working hard for what you get,” she added. “It’s OK to fail but learn from your mistakes and get up and be better. Do better.”

Advice for others
Aissata shared nuggets of wisdom for anyone who wants to become a leader at Publix. Here are just a few:

• Believe in yourself and your abilities to get the job done. But most importantly, be consistent, persistent and have determination.
• Know what your goals are and never shy away from them.
• Always be ready to take on additional tasks but focus on being the best at what you’re doing right now.
• Surround yourself with the right people, even outside of work.
• Empower people to make decisions and let them know it’s OK to fail. Recognize them when they do a good job.
• You can’t pay someone to care. People will care if they respect you as a leader.

Publix is a family — a big, 230,000-person one — with backgrounds from across the country and around the world. This article is part of a series featuring associates from a variety of backgrounds, age groups and cultures, and we love sharing their successes. We hope our articles help you learn a little more about your fellow associates who make up our Publix family.