Karla Trotman (’98 Business Logistics)

2021 Distinguished Achievement Award

Karla Trotman is the President & CEO of Electro Soft, Incorporated, an electronics engineering and manufacturing firm in suburban Philadelphia. Her background in supply chain logistics, purchasing, global scheduling, and e-commerce, led her to leadership positions in distribution and supply chain logistics for Gap, Metrologic Instruments (Honeywell) and IKEA Wholesale, Inc.

While pregnant and working at IKEA, Trotman started a successful online business selling products for pre- and postnatal women. Over the next eight years, the business grew quickly with both an international and celebrity clientele.  Trotman was featured on NBC 10 News, People Magazine’s Celebrity Baby Blog, CBSNews.com, Huffington Post Live, several radio shows, as well as in books and countless blogs.

She is a member of the Drexel Board of Governors and was appointed to Montgomery County's Workforce Development Board. In addition, she sits on the Corporate Advisory Board for the Museum of the American Revolution and is a board member for Carson Valley Children’s Aid and the Montgomery Child Advocacy Project which raises money to train lawyer advocates to fight for abused children living in abusive homes or victims of human trafficking. 

Trotman holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Logistics with a Minor in the Legal Environment of Business from Penn State University and an MBA from Drexel University.