Automotive News - November 9, 2015 - Supplement - 58W

20151109-Sup1--0058-NAT-CCI-AN_--

11/2/2015

12:02 PM

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58W * NOVEMBER 9, 2015

L E A D I N G

W O M E N

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TERI QUIGLEY
Plant Manager, Silao Complex | General
Motors | Silao, Mexico | Age: 52 |
Education: B.S., manufacturing systems
engineering, General Motors Institute;
M.S., operations management, and
M.S., manufacturing management,
Kettering University
● What attracted you to the auto industry?
The opportunity to work with a broad number of
people, and the opportunity to work in mobility.
We make products that provide people mobility,
and to me mobility is freedom.
● First automotive job: In high school I took a
vocational education program that was four
hours a day. I was the first female at my school
to be enrolled in the program, and when I
graduated high school I was certified as a
technician in engine and transmission repair,
diagnostics and rebuilding. That was at Dexter
High School in Dexter, Mich.
● Big break: It was when I was offered my first
international assignment. I was the assistant
plant manager in Luton, England. It gave me
that vision of GM as a really big company with
lots of opportunities.
● What is the major challenge you've faced in
your career? A main theme I've faced is that the
automotive industry is cyclical - it has big ups
and big downs. I've learned to be helpful in
steering people through the upsides and the
downsides, but it can be difficult. I'm the one
who tells people "we will get through this" either
as a plant or as a company. Helping people
manage that emotion and stay focused on the
things we can control is the most consistent
challenge.
● Who has had the biggest influence on your
career? There have been many great leaders
and mentors and team members - but I have
to say it's been my children. They have been
strong enough to support me and allowed me to
say "yes," even when it was difficult. When I
went to England, we decided to do a split family
situation. I took the two youngest with me and
the older ones stayed behind with their dad to

ROBIN CHASE

●

Chairman | Veniam | Boston | Age: 56 |
Education: B.A., English, French and philosophy,
Wellesley College; MBA, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology Sloan School of
Management
● What attracted you to the auto industry? It was an
important part of my life that I felt could stand
improvement. Transportation was a key piece of quality
of life and I was dissatisfied with the status quo. I also
saw that's where the opportunity was. When my cofounder presented the idea of Zipcar to me, I saw that
this is what the Internet was made for and it was what I
personally wanted. I wanted to have a car once in a
while, but I didn't want to own one.
● First automotive job: CEO of Zipcar in 2000
● Big break: My co-founder saw the idea of car sharing
in Europe and talked to me about that idea and bringing
it to the U.S. It was out of the blue, a lucky thing and
when I heard it I thought, "Wow, this is the time in life
and my big personal moment."
Our kindergartners were best friends at the time. She's
German and went home to Germany for a vacation and
saw a car-sharing company car while sitting in a cafe
and thought that was a cool idea. Car sharing in Europe
had been around since the mid-1980s. Zipcar built the
technology and used it in a novel way and rebranded it.
● What is the major challenge you've faced in your
career? I would say financing three startups is a major
challenge.
● Who has had the biggest influence on your career?

My husband. When Zipcar was a startup, he supported
me and the family during that whole first year. Then he
became chief technology officer of the company and
built that technology.
As I've continued to move on through my life, he has
been an enabler and champion at every moment. I've
talked to many other wives and their husbands are not. I
couldn't have raised three great children and supported
us through all this without him. And he had the
technology skills when I needed them.
● What should be done to encourage women to enter
the auto industry? What I'm struck by is that
transportation is the glue of our lives. It's what makes
you able to have an education, work, see your friends. I
try to encourage women to recognize that it's front and

●
finish high school and college. When I look at
what my children were able to help me say
"yes" to, that has been the biggest influence on
my career.
● What should be done to encourage women
to enter the auto industry? We're getting some
traction but I think we need to accelerate the
conversation. We're doing a lot of work
promoting STEM but there are so many facets of
the industry. There's forecasting, finance,
communications - just so many ways to
participate. This conversation needs to be
coupled with STEM promotion. Also, the industry
on the outside doesn't appear to be aspirational
- other industries seem to be more lucrative.
That won't help us get young people in general,
man or woman.
● Tell us about your family. I have four children.
The two older ones have successful young
families of their own. The two youngest are in
college in Michigan. I also have a wonderful
boyfriend and brothers and a mother all in
Michigan as well. My dad was at General Motors
in communications and public relations. Just a
few years after he retired, he passed away,
unfortunately. But I'd like to think he would be
really proud of where the industry is now and
really proud of how far I've come.
● What's your favorite weekend activity? I like
to work on things and either build or grow
things, but I would have to say of all my
hobbies, gardening is the most therapeutic.
● If I had it to do all over again, I'd ... I've
really been fortunate, so I'm not sure I'd do
anything over again. Being able to say "yes"
when I needed to meant a lot in my career. No
regrets.
● Best advice you've ever gotten? Don't say
"no" too soon. When the idea of going to
England came up, it was presented to me as
"Teri, I'm going to offer you something and I
don't want you to say 'no' too soon." And so as
I said, I thought deeply about it and found a way
to say "yes" and it ended up being huge for me.
It's important to keep an open mind and give
career decisions some thoughtful consideration.
- Nora Naughton

center. You should care about education, schools,
poverty and whatever else you care about but remember
that transportation is an enabler.
● Tell us about your family. I have three children that
are now 22, 25 and 28. They are fantastic, well-adjusted
delightful young adults. Only one has a driver's license.
My youngest daughter is promising herself she'll get her
learner's permit in the next month. They all live in cities.
If you Google my daughter Cameron Russell, you'll see
she's as famous as I am. I have a dog that I consider
my foster grandpuppy.
● What's your favorite weekend activity? Spending
time with my family either walking around or enjoying a
dinner.
● What keeps you up at night? Climate change. I'm
deeply concerned we won't reduce emissions in time to
prevent catastrophe. Every company that I have founded
has provided a pathway to reduce CO2 emissions. I just
wrote a book, Peers Inc. It talks about this economic
shift that's under way that is transforming how we build
businesses and how we work. Companies such as
Zipcar and Uber are examples of that shift.
● Name one thing about yourself that most people
don't know. I'm an excellent knitter. I'm very good with
colors, so I make sweaters from scratch and they are
well-loved by the people I give them to.
● Name one talent you wish you had. Some days I wish
I had been an engineer because I'd like to have a
deeper understanding of what's going on, specifically a
network engineer who understands wireless.
● What advice would you give your child? To be a
person who is a continuous lifelong learner. That's what
makes for great employees and makes for a successful
human.
- Jamie LaReau

Automotive News - November 9, 2015 - Supplement

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