Automotive News - November 9, 2015 - Supplement - 38W

20151109-Sup1--0038-NAT-CCI-AN_--

11/2/2015

11:41 AM

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38W * NOVEMBER 9, 2015

L E A D I N G

W O M E N

●●●

JAN GRIFFITHS

●

Vice President of Supply Chain Management | Inteva Products |
Troy, Mich. | Age: 50 | Education: B.A., business, Swansea
Metropolitan University
● First automotive job: Purchasing assistant for BorgWarner at a
transmission plant in Wales, 1986
● What attracted you to the auto industry? I had just come out of college and
had never worked anywhere. I walked onto the shop floor [of BorgWarner's
plant] and I felt it. I didn't know it, but I knew I wanted to be in it. I loved the
machinery part of it because my father, a farmer in Wales, worked his entire
life on tractors and bailers. I used to go to the pub with him and listen to him
barter for tractor parts and hay and straw. The whole supply-and-demand thing
- I got to understand that.
● Big break: I spearheaded a restructuring
"In the private
project for AEES [a wire harness supplier owned
at the time by Platinum Equity, an M&A firm]. I
equity
needed to move the entire purchasing team to
environment,
Mexico. It was an extremely low-budget and fastyou can't fail. It's moving project that required me to hire many
employees who had very little experience. I was
simply not an
given one year to have the unit up and running.
option. Because ● What is the major challenge you've faced in
your career? Probably the assignment I just
if you do fail,
described. In the private equity environment,
you are out."
you can't fail. It's simply not an option. Because
if you do fail, you are out.
● Who has had the biggest influence on your career? That's an easy
question. Paul Humphries was my boss at the BorgWarner plant in Wales. He
was my first boss. He would throw me into situations and see how I would
handle it. He assigned me to the tool crib on the shop floor. I got eaten alive
the first few weeks. They pulled every trick in the book. But I learned a lot.
● What should be done to encourage women to enter the auto industry? We
don't expose young girls in school to the auto industry. It's manufacturing.
They think it's hard, dirty, nasty, aggressive and male-dominated. We need to
show them it's not a scary place but a great place to pursue a career. I like to
make presentations to young women whenever I can.
● Tell us about your family. I grew up on a farm in Wales, listening to my
father barter tractors, horses and hay. Looking back on it, it was the best onthe-job training I could receive, as I was able to learn the ins and outs of
supply chains. [Now] I have a 13-year-old daughter, Gwen. Spending time with
Gwen is my No. 1 priority.
● Do you spend time with friends? I like to talk to my 75-year-old German
neighbor about life. She's an appraiser from Germany, and we talk about the
challenges I had and the challenges she had. We do that over a glass of
vodka.
- David Sedgwick

SHERI HICKOK

●

Chief Engineer, Next-Generation of Full-Size
Trucks | General Motors | Detroit | Age: 38 |
Education: B.S., mechanical engineering,
Kettering University; M.S., industrial
engineering, Purdue University; MBA, corporate
strategy and international business, University
of Michigan
● What attracted you to the auto industry? It started
with a co-op assignment at General Motors. I was
motivated by the idea of what the automobile can do for
people around the world, especially in developing
economies, allowing them to get to their jobs or
transport their children.
● First automotive job: As a validation engineer [in
2001], working on durability vehicles. I was testing the
Cadillac STS at the time. We were working on full-vehicle
durability. Whatever broke, we would investigate with the
engineers.
● Big break: When I led the A World In Motion program.
It's a volunteer program led by the Society of Automotive
Engineers, whereby engineers can go into the classroom
for an hour a week over a six-week period and teach
hands-on engineering projects. General Motors is a huge
sponsor of that program. That led to huge networks for
me.
● What is the major challenge you've faced in your
career? I think the major one has been moving very
quickly through the organization. Because you don't bring
a lot of depth with you. You're always rebuilding that
trust with the new team, proving that you have the

knowledge to lead them.
● Who has had the biggest influence on your career?
[GM Vice President of Global Quality] Grace Lieblein has
had the greatest influence. She's taught me to challenge
myself, but to do it in a balanced way. She'll often say,
"Never have any regrets." Even when I was thinking
about having children, she was the one who said, "There
will never be a right time to have kids. If you want to have
children now, then do it." I worked for her in my previous
assignment, and she'd sometimes say, "Go spend time
with your kids."
● What should be done to encourage women to enter
the auto industry? We need to show more flexibility. I'm
not sure that the young women in our company see that.
I have a lot of young women, let's say five years into their
career, who are getting ready to start a family and are
nervous to take a promotion or move to the next level
because they're not sure how they'll balance that. We
need to showcase that flexibility more.
● Tell us about your family. I have a wonderful husband,
Loren. We've been married for 12 years. We have two
girls: Ellena, 7, and Kendall, who's 3. We have a lot of
fun.
● Are you able to maintain friendships? Yes. I think the
challenge is finding like-minded women outside of work,
like in my church community or other places. A lot of
those women stay at home with their children, so
sometimes it's hard to find those connections.
● What keeps you up at night? Nothing. I have zero
issues sleeping. It's mostly because I'm exhausted.
● Name one thing about yourself that most people
don't know. I can list all of the states in alphabetical
order at a very high speed. But seriously, I grew up on a
horse farm with draft horses, and I can drive draft
horses.

>> HAVING HER SAY:
autonews.com/hickokvideo

● If you could have dinner with anyone, living or dead,
who would it be? Jesus
● What's your guilty pleasure? Watching "Dancing with
the Stars"
● Name one talent you wish you had. Remembering
people's names. I'm terrible.
- Mike Colias

http://www.autonews.com/hickokvideo

Automotive News - November 9, 2015 - Supplement

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