Automotive News - November 9, 2015 - Supplement - 52W

20151109-Sup1--0052-NAT-CCI-AN_--

11/2/2015

11:54 AM

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52W * NOVEMBER 9, 2015

L E A D I N G

W O M E N

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LISA LUNSFORD●
CEO | GS3 Global | Livonia, Mich. | Age: 52 |
Education: B.S., chemistry, Bennett College

would it be? My great-grandmother on my mother's side. She
was a leading force in land ownership at a time when blacks
and Native Americans didn't own land. She was able to own
land and obtain more land.
● When and where was your last vacation? On Aug. 22, my
daughter and I went to Chicago to the American Girl store. I
had a great time there.
- PJ Eichten

"

"

● What attracted you to the auto industry? When I was 8,
my cousin came home with a 1971 Mach 1. The sound of
that engine is music to my ears. In fact, my favorite song
today is a nice V-8 engine.
● First automotive job: In February 1986, I was hired at Ford
Motor Co. in the plastics division. I was an r&d engineer
working with plastic trunk liners.
● Big break: In the auto industry, it was being hired by Ford.
Then it was starting out and becoming an owner. My mentor
at Ford said they would support me and gave me the
flexibility to start out and if I failed, I could go back. But I
never looked back.
● What is the major challenge you've faced in your career?
Access to capital.
● Who has had the biggest influence on your career?
Maryann Keller. She was the go-to woman in the automotive
industry. Men would go to her for opinions and I thought that
was great. I wanted to be the next Maryann Keller.
● What should be done to encourage women to enter the
auto industry? I think you should bring more girls to
understand the totality of industry. It is also fashion - it's
more than math and science. We need them to understand
the full aspect of the car industry, which includes things like
color or design studies, interiors and even how you hear your
music. It's not just grit and dirt.
● Tell us about your family. I grew up in North Carolina as
the only girl with four brothers. My grandparents were
tobacco farmers and I worked on the family farm every
summer until I graduated from college. I learned from them
working hard, working as a team and ownership. When I
graduated, I moved to join Ford and my fiance, who is an
engineer, followed me here.
I have been married 23 years and we have one daughter who
is 9. She is learning math and science with great enthusiasm
and is also learning about cars. She can tell you the model of
the car by just looking at the back.
● What's your favorite weekend activity? Laying back and
watching football - especially college football. I am a
Michigan and Alabama fan.
● What keeps you up at night? Making sure my employees
have the means to feed their families. Also customer
retention and the next stage of growth.
● If you could have dinner with anyone, living or dead, who

"I think you should bring more
girls to understand the totality of
industry. It is also fashion - it's
more than math and science."

MARISSA HUNTER
Director, FCA US Brand Advertising and
Head of Advertising Ram Truck Brand |
FCA US | Auburn Hills, Mich. | Age: 41 |
Education: B.A., communication arts
and sciences, Michigan State
University
● What attracted you to the auto industry?
The fast-paced nature.
● First automotive job: BBDO, an ad agency.
I started in the traffic department in 1998. As
we were creating advertising, the traffic
coordinators routed the creative pieces to all
of the internal stakeholders to make sure
everything was checked off.
● Big break: The decision to change from an
agency to FCA.
● What is the major challenge you've faced
in your career? One challenge was trying to
get this organization, and the team of people
who ultimately reported to me, to absolutely
and truly embrace the possibilities that exist
for us if we have enough courage to take big
risks. It's a challenge to inspire people, to be
the person who is expected to inspire people.
● Who has had the biggest influence on your
career? Both of my parents. My dad has been
an especially strong mentor. My husband has
been a wonderful friend and mentor in my
career, always being the cheerleader saying,
"You can do it. You're going to be great."

● Tell us about your family. We'll be married
15 years in March. [My husband] is quite the
entrepreneurial spirit himself. Farmer, she's
10 months old. She is a border collie/terrier
mix. (The dog's name is inspired by the Ram
brand's "Farmer" Super Bowl commercial.)
● What's your favorite weekend activity?
We have a relatively new home, and I like to
decorate and be inspired about how the
interior design and decorating needs to go. I
like to do a lot of it myself.
● Are you able to maintain friendships? Yes,
you just have to commit yourself. You don't
need a ton of friends, you just need enough
good people around you who you can trust
and vice versa.
● If you could have dinner with anyone,
living or dead, who would it be? My father's
grandmother. She died two weeks before I
was born. To hear stories, she sounds like
the most interesting, wise, stubborn,
motivated, innovative woman who was maybe
even before her time. I always felt slighted
that I didn't get to meet her.
● Name one talent you wish you had. I can't
sing. I always wanted to be a singer, even if
just for fun in a band or something. I was not
blessed. I guess I can go to vocal lessons
and maybe go from bad to not so bad, but I
would never go from bad to good.
- Vince Bond Jr.

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Automotive News - November 9, 2015 - Supplement

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